BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The first supermoon of the year is happening on Monday August 19th.
The full Sturgeon supermoon will rise just after 8:30 in the evening in the southeastern sky.
As long as the sky is clear to partly cloudy, we should get a glimpse of this celestial event.
A supermoon is when the full moon appears up to 14 percent bigger and up to 30 percent brighter than a typical full moon. This only happens three to four times per year because the moon's orbit changes orientation while the Earth orbits the sun; that's why we don't see a supermoon every month.
A supermoon occurs near the time when the moon is at it closest point to the Earth in its 27-day orbit. This is called the lunar perigee.
The next supermoons of 2024 will happen in September, October and in November.
If you don't catch the supermoon on the 19th, it will also appear bigger and brighter the day before and the day after.
