Mega Moon Rising

Get ready to look up! Next month, a supersized full moon will light up the night sky. This is known as a supermoon. 

Here’s what’s going on . . . The moon orbits Earth in an oval-shaped path, with Earth slightly off-center. This means the moon’s distance from Earth changes as it moves. When the moon is farthest from Earth on its path, it’s about 252,000 miles (406,000 kilometers) away. When the moon is closest to Earth, it’s about 226,000 mi (364,000 km) away. 

When a full moon occurs at this closest distance, the result is a supermoon. “If we look at the moon near this closest point, it appears larger than it normally does,” says lunar scientist Kim Cone. The moon looks 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its farthest distance from Earth.

Get ready to look up! Next month, a full moon will light up the night sky. But it’s bigger than a normal full moon. This is known as a supermoon. 

Here’s what’s going on. The moon travels around Earth in an oval path. Earth is not in the perfect center of this oval. This means the moon’s distance from Earth changes as it moves. When the moon is farthest from Earth, it’s about 252,000 miles away. When the moon is closest to Earth, it’s about 226,000 miles away. 

When a full moon happens at its closest point to Earth, it’s a supermoon. “It appears larger than it normally does,” says Kim Cone. She studies the moon. 

A supermoon looks bigger and brighter than other full moons. It’s 14 percent bigger. It is 30 percent brighter than a full moon at its farthest point. 

Every night, the moon looks a little different. One night it appears as a thin sliver. During another it looks like a full circle. Sometimes we can’t see it at all! The moon isn’t actually changing shape. All that changes is our perspective.

Light from the sun always shines on half of the moon. As the moon circles Earth, we see light from this bright side reflected off the moon’s surface. This creates the moon’s phases. The moon takes 29.5 days to orbit Earth. The moon cycles through all its phases within that time. 

Each cycle starts with the new moon, when we can’t see it at all. During the first half of the cycle, the moon appears to grow until it becomes full. During the second half, the moon appears to shrink back to a new moon again. 

Every night, the moon looks a little different. One night it appears as a thin sliver. Other times, it might look like a full circle. Sometimes we can’t see it at all! The moon isn’t actually changing shape. All that changes is how it looks from Earth.

The sun always shines on half of the moon. As the moon moves around Earth, we see different amounts of that light. This creates the moon’s phases. The moon takes 29.5 days to travel around Earth. The moon cycles through all its phases in that time. 

Each moon cycle starts with the new moon. A new moon is when we can’t see it at all. But the moon appears to grow bigger each night. Then it becomes full. After that, the moon appears to shrink again. Then it looks like it’s gone. 

Scientists think our moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago when a massive object smashed into a young Earth! This event sent hot chunks of rock flying into space. Over time, they clumped together into a giant ball of molten rock. Over millions of years, the rock cooled into a solid body that orbits Earth, becoming the moon we know today. It’s about 2,160 miles (3,476 kilometers) across. Four moons lined up side-by-side are about the same width as Earth.

Scientists think our moon formed about 4.5 billion years ago. It happened when a huge object smashed into Earth! This event sent hot chunks of rock flying into space. Over time, the rocks clumped together to form a big, hot ball. 

Over millions of years, the rock cooled. It became solid. That is the moon we know today. 

The moon is about 2,160 miles across. Four moons lined up side by side are about as wide as Earth.

The moon may look pretty smooth from far away, but it’s covered in craters. Space rocks made these dents as they crashed into the moon over billions of years. The moon has no liquid water and almost no atmosphere. Without this layer of gases, there’s nothing to protect it or trap the sun’s heat. That means temperatures are extreme. They go from -300 degrees Fahrenheit (-184 degrees Celsius) at night to 230 degrees Fahrenheit (110 degrees Celsius) during the day! Twelve astronauts have walked on the moon so far. They wore protective spacesuits to survive these harsh conditions.

The moon may look smooth from far away. But it’s covered in holes called craters. Space rocks made these dents as they crashed into the moon over billions of years. 

The moon has no liquid water. It has almost no atmosphere. An atmosphere is a layer of gasses around a planet or moon. Without this layer, there’s nothing to protect the moon. There is also nothing to trap the sun’s heat. That’s why temperatures on the moon are extreme. 

At night, it can get as cold as -300 degrees Fahrenheit. During the day, it can get as hot as 230 degrees Fahrenheit! Twelve astronauts have walked on the moon so far. They wore special spacesuits to survive these tough conditions.

The moon plays a big role in shaping conditions on Earth. Tides are one example. The moon’s gravity pulls on Earth’s oceans, creating a bulge of water on the side of Earth closest to the moon. A second bulge forms on the opposite side. As our planet rotates, these bulges create two high tides and two low tides every day. (See Tides Explained)

The moon even affects living things. Some animals hunt or navigate by moonlight. Many ocean creatures depend on tides to survive. For many organisms, the moon’s cycle is just as important as the rising and setting of the sun.

The moon plays a big role in life on Earth. Tides are one example. The moon’s gravity pulls on ocean water. This creates a bulge of water. The bulge forms on the side of Earth closest to the moon. A second bulge forms on the opposite side. As our planet spins, these bulges create two high tides and two low tides every day. (See Tides Explained)

The moon even affects living things. Some animals hunt or travel by moonlight. Many ocean creatures depend on tides to survive. For many animals, the moon’s cycle is just as important as the sun.