Supermoon of April 8, 2020

The full Moon of 8 April 2020 occurs just 8½ hours after perigee, its closest point to Earth in the oval shaped lunar orbit. This graphic shows the apparent size of this full Moon (right), 8½ percent larger than average (left). A full Moon occurring close to perigee is popularly called a supermoon, though astronomers prefer the less catchy term ‘perigee syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system’. The supermoon of 8 April is the closest full Moon of the year and we’ll not see one larger until 5 November 2025.

The Moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it is closer and sometimes it’s farther away. When the Moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth it is known as a supermoon. At perigree (the point at which the moon is closest to Earth) the Moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the Moon is farthest from our planet. The full Moon appears that much larger in diameter and because it is larger shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth. .

If you’re awake around 3:35am BST on Wednesday, 8 April 2020, take a look to the southwest where you can see the lunar orb appear fully illuminated, some 8 degrees (or a little less than the span of a fist at arm’s length) to the upper right of first-magnitude Spica, Virgo’s brightest star. Occurring just 8½ hours after perigee means that this full Moon is also a supermoon and – yes, you’ve guessed it – the largest of 2020. In fact, we won’t see a larger supermoon until 5 November 2025. .