Everything you need to know to enjoy the 'supermoon'

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Nov 13, 2016 at 6:10 PM

Everything you need to know to enjoy the 'supermoon' Sunday night
Best time to check it out is early Sunday night

The moon will be a mere 221,000 miles from the Earth late this weekend, which combined with its full moon phase, will give Coloradans the chance to see what NASA called an “extra-super moon. ”

Frankly, most astronomers don’t care.

“There’s nothing special about it in terms of recent history,” said Robert Stencel, astronomy professor at the University of Denver.

But that won’t stop the excitement.

Despite the lack of scientific significance, Stencel said people should still check out the supermoon, saying it’s “nice to encourage people to pay attention to the natural world.”

So to help stargazers, Stencel gave these inside tips on when to watch, where to watch and what else you should be looking for.

What makes a supermoon: The moon travels along an elliptical orbit, meaning it’ll be closer sometimes and farther at other times. A supermoon occurs when the moon is traveling along a close orbit during a new or full moon phase, making it appear 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than a full moon on a farther away orbit.

Why is this moon an “extra-super moon”: This year has already had one supermoon in October and another one is coming Dec. 14. But during the October instance, and the one to come in December, the moon became full the same day as the closer elliptical orbit. This supermoon becomes full only two hours before, making it appear even bigger. It will also be the closest to the Earth since January 1948. It won’t come this close again until Nov. 25, 2034.

Best time to watch: Between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday night when looking east. Although the moon is technically at its closest early Monday, the best time to watch it will be Sunday night. This is because of something called a “moon illusion.” When the moon is close to the horizon, it looks unnaturally large compared to trees and houses. But once the moon is high in the sky, stargazers lose their point of reference and its larger appearance becomes unnoticeable.

Sunday’s weather: The National Weather Service said the sky will be mostly clear in the Denver area during prime supermoon viewing time. It may be slightly cloudy to the east and over the mountains.

How to test the size: Now you could always pull out a clear ruler and measure the moon, but Stencel said there’s an easier way. If you hold out your little finger at arm’s length, it typically covers the moon entirely. But on Sunday, the moon will be spilling out around it.

Viewing tip: Use binoculars. Although the moon will be bright, you’ll still be able to pick out details that may not be easily noticeable when the moon is farther away.

Other things to look at: The moon won’t be the only thing out Sunday night. On the other side of the sky, Mars and Venus will still be visible. Mars will be hanging out in the southwest part of the sky while Venus will post up in the low southwest part.

Best places: Unfortunately, Denver has too much light pollution for prime stargazing. But Stencel said there are two nice dark sky areas if you’re willing to drive a bit. The first is Berthound, a small town north of Longmont about an hour away from downtown. The second is Westcliffe, a town west of Pueblo that’s about three hours away.

Health tip: Stargazing is a free vision check. Stencel said if you learn a couple of constellations, they’ll be there the rest of your life. Whenever you check in on them, you can see how your eyes are doing compared to the last time you took a peek.

Poor eyesight wins: Got astigmatism? Well, you’re in for a treat. Stencel says people with astigmatism can look at bright objects, such as Venus, and see the shape of their astigmatism.

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