Friday’s full moon will appear much smaller than normal

Friday, June 9 we will see a rare type of full moon, a micromoon. Since the moon orbits the Earth in a non concentric path we have micromoons. This type of moon occurs when the moon and the Earth are at the furthest distance away from each other, known as apogee. A micromoon is 251,655 miles away from the center of the Earth.

As the moon reaches it’s furthest distance from Earth and at the same time a full moon occurs, we see a moon that appears 14% smaller than the supermoon. The supermoon occurs when the moon closest to the Earth in its orbital path, otherwise known as perigee. The illumination of the moon will even appear up to 30% smaller. Since it looks smaller it also may not seem as bright.

Friday night we will see mostly clear skies with temperatures in the 60s, which will make for the perfect opportunity to view this month’s micromoon!