Supermoon: Lesser known facts about the celestial phenomenon

The average distance between Earth and the moon is 384,500 km. To be called a supermoon, the moon has to be both at its closest distance from Earth as well as full.

On November 14, 2016, the full moon was 356,508 km from Earth, the closest since January 1948, when it was nearly 47 km closer.

While they’re a treat to watch, supermoons are not all that rare. One in about every 14 full moons is a supermoon, University of Wisconsin astronomer Jim Lattis told Reuters.

By the time 2016 ends, it will have seen three supermoons — on October 16, November 14, December 14.


The ' lowhanging moon' effect. (Image: Twitter)

On top of the moon’s bigger than usual size, this supermoon had an additional “lowhanging moon” effect. This is an optical illusion caused by the moon being close to the horizon, where it can be measured against familiar objects such as trees and houses.