November Supermoon Will Light Up Western Colorado’s Sky

The November full moon will be a supermoon and with clear skies expected next week it will light up the Western Colorado sky quite brilliantly.

The November supermoon also called the full Beaver Moon will reach its peak at 6:52 a.m. MST on Monday (November 14). It will actually appear to most people to be full on both Sunday (November 13) and Tuesday (November 15).

According to Space.com and NASA, the November supermoon is the second of three consecutive supermoons in 2016. The first was on October 16 and the third on December 14.

The November full moon is called an extra-supermoon because this is the closest to earth - and the biggest and brightest looking - the moon has been since 1948. The next time the moon will be this close is on November 25, 2034.

Sky and Telescope Magazine Senior Editor, Alan MacRobert says the average person looking at this extra-supermoon won't really notice any difference from most full moons, including supermoons, except it may appear slightly larger and brighter than the others.

Also, the moon will be closest to earth at 4:23 a.m. MST, just a few hours before the moon is actually full at 6:52 a.m.

Many people think the moon is larger as it rises above the horizon. Scientists say this is an optical moon illusion. A point of reference such as mountains, buildings, trees, etc. creates the illusion. Photographs of full moons can also create this illusion. Likewise, the moon looks smaller when we no longer have that point of reference.

To see the November supermoon at the optimum times, you'll have to get up super early or wait until 2034.