“Supermoon” Night over San Francisco

Thanks to an optical illusion in the sky, the moon will appear bigger and brighter than normal in the San Francisco Bay Area in the night, during what astronomers call a “supermoon.”

Because the sun is about 50,000 miles closer to the earth than at its furthest point – and it’s a full or new moon – the moon will appear larger and brighter than most full moons. To be considered a supermoon, it has to be within 224,851 miles (361,863 kilometers) of our planet, as measured from the centers of the moon and Earth.

The best time to observe the supermoon is when the moon is near the horizon during either moonrise or moonset, thanks to having objects in the foreground (like buildings or trees) to provide reference points for estimating the moon’s size.

August 2015 Supermoon Moonrise/Moonset times
This is when the “Supermoon” effect is most pronounced

– Saturday Morning (8/29) – Moonset – 6:29am
– Saturday Night (8/29) – Moonrise – 7:44pm
– Sunday Morning (8/30) – Moonset  – 7:41am

Source: EarthSky