Stargazers got a double treat last month when a near supermoon coincided with a lunar eclipse on Jan. 20, creating a reddish “blood moon” that was visible in all 50 states for the first time since October of 2014.
The full moon coming Tuesday will lack the drama of an eclipse, but it will appear to be the largest full moon of 2019.
The average distance of the moon as it revolves around earth varies from the 251,966-mile apogee to 225,744-mile perigee, according to NASA. On Tuesday, the moon will be the closest to earth that it will come this year. A supermoon occurs when the moon’s closest distance to the earth in a given month coincides with a full moon. The full moon for last month’s eclipse was nearly as close — only 540 miles farther away than it will be Tuesday.
The next time a supermoon will get this close to the earth will be in December of 2026.
Read the full story via The Denver Post.
