The biggest and brightest supermoon of 2018 will happen on New Year’s Day
The first and last supermoon of 2017 didn’t happen until December, but in 2018 the wait won’t last past New Year’s Day.
Sky gazers will be able to see the first supermoon of the year Monday night, and it is set to be the brightest one of the year, according to NASA.
A supermoon is coming! Tonight, the full Moon will be at or near its closest point in its orbit around Earth, making it a supermoon. Bundle up, get outside and look up! https://t.co/9bpbhOzKnL Follow @NASAMoon for more lunar facts! pic.twitter.com/g1Bdqad8sq
— NASA (@NASA) January 1, 2018
Monday’s supermoon — a non-scientific term that references the point in a full moon’s orbit where it makes the closest approach to Earth — will appear about 6 percent bigger and 14 percent brighter than the average full moon.
And if you miss Monday’s supermoon, the wait won’t be long as another will take place on Jan. 31.
NASA described last month’s supermoon, Monday’s and the one coming at the end of the month as a sort of trilogy of supermoons. The New Year’s Day moon has been described as the “Wolf Moon” by the agency and is expected to be the brightest of the three.
Tonight’s full Moon will be the biggest and brightest of 2018. Called the Wolf Moon, we’re calling it our #NewYearsDay Moon and the most super of the three supermoons this winter. Happy #MoonCrushMonday! https://t.co/s6Egk9vvTj pic.twitter.com/PAJfyzeKYz
— NASA Moon (@NASAMoon) January 1, 2018
But the Jan. 31 supermoon will also be impressive, according to NASA, as it will be a total lunar eclipse and give the moon a reddish glow—referred to as a “Blood Moon.” It will also have the distinction of being the second full moon of the month, and the second supermoon of the month, making it a “Super Blue Moon.”
Lance Dixon: 305-376-3708, @LDixon_3
This story was originally published January 1, 2018 at 5:27 PM with the headline "The biggest and brightest supermoon of 2018 will happen on New Year’s Day."