Supermoon 70 Years in the Making: How to Catch this Rare Sight, Monrovia

By Beth Dalbey

LOS ANGELES, CA -- November’s huger-and-brighter-than-usual supermoon on Monday, Nov. 14, is the star of the sky show in November — it will appear closer to the Earth than any moon in nearly 70 years, and you won’t see the likes of it for another eight years — but if meteor shower lovers are lucky and the big moon doesn’t outshine them, they may see some fireballs streaking across the sky, too.

The twin Taurids meteor showers — the South Taurids and the North Taurids — continue through Dec. 2. Both are long-lasting but sleepy, only offering about seven meteors an hour, but they are known for having the highest percentage of fireballs.

The North Taurids peak Friday and Saturday, Nov. 11-12. The best chance to see one of the fireballs is around midnight. They’re slow-moving, but very bright, according to Earthsky.org. Unfortunately, the waxing gibbous moon could outshine this year’s shower.

The waning big supermoon could dull the Leonids meteor shower, which peaks Nov. 16-17. This shower, which has produced some of the greatest meteor storms in history, is capable of producing thousands of meteors during a 15-minute span, as happened on Nov. 17, 1966.

“Some who witnessed the 1966 Leonid meteor storm said they felt as if they needed to grip the ground, so strong was the impression of Earth plowing along through space, fording the meteoroid stream,” earthsky.org says. “In most years, though, the constellation of Leo the Lion whimpers rather than roars, producing about 10 to 15 meteors an hour, especially just before dawn this year. Unfortunately, the bright light of a waning gibbous moon will offer some competition.”

But there’s some good news about this mid-November celestial event. Meteors will continue to graze the sky until Nov. 21, and the waning moon will be at its third quarter, which means only half of the moon’s face will interfere with meteor watching, according to space.com.

Where Should I Look?

The Leonids, which are associated with the comet Tempel-Tuttle, get their name from the constellation Leo and seem to radiate from that part of the sky, but it’s not necessary to look in any particular direction to see them.

About the Super-Supermoon

Skywatchers may have to be content this month to gaze at the Nov. 14 supermoon.

Supermoons aren't particularly rare. October's full moon was a supermoon, and December's will be, too. But November's will be the biggest supermoon since 1948, according to Bob Berman, an astronomer at the Slooh Community Observatory. And NASA says the moon won't be this big again until 2034.

What is a supermoon?

The moon's orbit around Earth isn't a perfect circle. It's more oval- or egg-shaped, meaning the moon is continuously getting closer or farther away from us.

The moon's closest point to Earth is called "perigee," which is about 30,000 miles closer than the opposite, "apogee." When perigee lines up with the cycle of a full moon, it's known as a supermoon.

Supermoons can appear to be about 14 percent bigger in the sky and 30 percent brighter.

But the exact moments of a full moon and perigee hardly ever line up simultaneously. So the supermoons can vary slightly in size.

Which brings us to this month…

What makes November's supermoon so special?

This month's moon is going to be even super-er.

According to NASA, the moon will become "full within about two hours of perigee — arguably making it an extra-super moon." And the moon won't look this big until again until Nov. 25, 2034.

Bonus fact: the November full moon is traditionally known as the "beaver moon," being when hunters would go after the critters as they built their dams.

How can I see it?

Just look up!

There's nothing fancy about looking at a supermoon. No special equipment is required.

You should check your local weather forecast, though, for rain and clouds. Overcast skies can diminish the moon's brightness significantly.

Last Meteor Showers of 2016

And, if you’re still interested in seeing meteors, there are still a couple meteor showers remaining this year.

Dec.13-14, Geminids: The last major meteor shower of the year is usually one of the finest meteor showers visible in either the Northern or the Southern Hemisphere, but a full moon — yes, another supermoon — will be out all night, subduing the typically prolific Geminids, which can produce up to 120 meteors per hour. The shower peaks around 2 a.m.

Dec. 21-22, Ursids: This minor meteor shower often goes unnoticed. Produced by the dust grains left behind by the comet Tuttle, it produces only about five to 10 meteors an hour. The shower runs from Dec. 17-25, but it should peak around the 21st. The moon will be 23 days old at the time of peak activity, so it shouldn’t present too much of a problem.

Marc Torrence of the Patch National Staff contributed to this report.
Photo: The 2009 Leonid meteor shower produced this fireball (photo by Ed Sweeney via Flickr Commons)