New Years Day Coincides With First Supermoon of 2018

January 1st will be the first full moon of 2018, and it will be a supermoon! If you miss this one, don’t worry too much, you’ll have another chance soon!

By sarahjones4 on December 28, 2017
(Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images)

January 1st will be the first full moon of 2018, and it will be a supermoon!

For anyone who doesn’t know what a supermoon is, it’s when the moon becomes full on the same day that it reaches its perigree, which is the point in the moon’s elliptical orbit when it’s closest to Earth.

According to CNN,

“During these events, the moon generally appears to be 14% bigger and 30% brighter than a typical full moon. They typically occur around every 13 months, according to NASA.”

If you aren’t able to view the supermoon on New Year’s Day don’t worry because another supermoon will occur on January 31!

Some people refer to the second full moon in a month a blue moon and these occur about every two and a half years.

The January 31st supermoon will also feature a total lunar eclipse. This is when the Earth, sun and moon, line up where the Earth blocks the sunlight that would typically reflect off the moon.

The total lunar eclipse will cause the moon to not be as bright and it could take on a reddish hue. According to NASA,

“this event will be visible from western North America through the Pacific Ocean to eastern Asia.”

The best time to view the supermoon is right after moonrise.

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