Prepare to Be Awed By Sunday Night Supermoon

If you were out last night and looked up at the sky you might have thought that the moon looked a little closer than usual.  You'd have been right.

The phenomenon is known as "supermoon" It's the name used to describe a full or new moon that occurs when the moon is nearest the earth in its elliptical orbit around our planet. Astronomers call it the "perigee full moon" (perigee being the term for the moon’s closest point to earth in any given month).

The reason we have supermoons is because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular. When it swings closer to Earth on its elliptical path, the moon does exert a bit more of a gravitational pull on our planet. But it's nothing Earth can't handle.

While last night's moon was big and bright, tonight's is going to be even more spectacular.  So, once the sun sets and moon rises, take a little sneak outside to check it out.  It really is pretty awesome!

If you're able to get some pictures, I'd love to see them.  Share them on Twitter and use #HawkSupermoon or email them to Traci.Taylor@Townsquaremedia.com so I can share them with everybody!

Source: Earth Sky, Live Science