The Moon will make its closest approach to earth on Sunday morning, coinciding with the full moon on the calendar, and ensuring exceptionally bright and large views of Earth’s crater-pocked companion.
Surfers and beachgoers will indirectly notice the the super moon because high tides will peak at 7 feet along the San Diego County coast on Sunday evening, according to the National Weather Service. There’s even a chance of minor tidal flooding.
The moon rises at 7:34 p.m. on Sunday and will be visible until dawn Monday. The view on Saturday night will also be exceptional, since the time of closest approach is at 11:09 a.m. Sunday morning.
Full Moons vary in size because of the shape of the Moon’s orbit. The Moon follows an elliptical path with one side — the “perigee” — about 30,000 miles closer than the other — the “apogee.” Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon’s orbit can seem up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.
The scientific term for the phenomenon is “perigee moon.”
NASA says this coincidence will happen three times in 2014: July 12, Sunday and again on Sept. 9. On Sunday the moon becomes full during the same hour as perigee, making it an extra-super Moon.
“Generally speaking, full Moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it’s not all that unusual,” said Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory. “In fact, just last year there were three perigee Moons in a row, but only one was widely reported.”
In practice, NASA says, it’s not always easy to tell the difference between a supermoon and an ordinary full Moon. A 30 percent difference in brightness can easily be masked by clouds and haze.
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