On Nov. 13, the moon appeared much brighter and larger than usual. This is a phenomenon called supermoon. This happens when the moon takes its closest approach to Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size from Earth. The technical name for the supermoon is the, perigee-syzygy of the Earth–Moon–Sun system, but that is a mouthful and relatively difficult to remember. Supermoon is not an astronomical term, but it originated in modern astrology.

This supermoon was special since it was the biggest the moon has ever been since 1948. The moon was 14% bigger than the normal full moon. The moon is not expected to be this big again until 2034. In addition to increase in size, the moon becomes much brighter as well. Most people can’t notice a supermoon being bigger, but they can notice that it is brighter.

A supermoon of that magnitude is something that is seen about two times in a lifetime. It’s a pretty amazing thing to witness the natural phenomenon of the moon becoming bigger and then small in its elliptical orbit.