Daily Times

On Tuesday (April 7) at 2:08 p.m. the moon will arrive at its closest point to Earth in 2020: a distance of 221,772 miles (356,907 kilometers) away. And 8 hours and 35 minutes later, the moon will officially turn full.

Although a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation, and for a day or so before and after most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as “full,” although if you look carefully enough, you’ll be able to tell that on Monday night and Wednesday night, the moon will appear ever-so-slightly out of roundness compared to Tuesday night. The narrow strip of darkness will appear on the left side of the moon on Monday and the right side of the moon on Wednesday.

What was once called a “perigean full moon” is now referred to in popular parlance, as a “supermoon.”

In the past 20 years, there have been 79 supermoons which averages out to one supermoon every three months.

But why does a super moon scenario occur? Basically, the moon’s orbit happens in an oval shape around Earth. Since it isn’t a circle, there will always be a closest point and a farthest point. A super moon is when the moon is at the closest point to Earth because of the orbit shape. There is another term, micro moon, which refers to when the moon is at its furthest distance in the Orbit, in relation to the Earth.