ROCKFORD, Ill. (WIFR) – The moon will look 30% brighter and 15% larger on Oct. 17 as the third of four consecutive supermoons occurs.

A supermoon is the full moon that is at 90 percent perigre, or the phase closest to Earth. We have about three to four a year and they happen one after the other. This is because the Moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical rather than round.

Today’s moon will be the closest of the four supermoons as it will be 222,056 miles from Earth. This is by no means a record, as the moon was 221,494 miles away in January 1948 and will be even closer at 221,485 miles in November 2034.

To illustrate how close this is, we need to talk about when the moon is at its furthest point, apogee. The Moon’s apogee is about 251,000 miles away, 12% further away than the Moon’s position today.

Today’s full moon is called the Hunter’s Moon because it is the first full moon after the autumnal equinox. We got the name from the indigenous people because they benefited from the brightness of the moon when hunters prepared for long winters by using the moonlight to hunt deer.

We have the fourth and final supermoon of 2024 on November 15th, but it won’t be as close as it is tonight.

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