Monday’s Super Supermoon: Will Tampa Bay Area Skies Cooperate?

Tampa Bay area stargazers may be in for a treat Monday night. Scientists say those who peer into the night sky Nov. 14 will get the opportunity to see the biggest “supermoon” on record in the past 70 years or so.

But, will the weather in the Tampa Bay area cooperate?

Forecasters at the National Weather Service are predicting a mostly cloudy night Monday. That doesn’t mean the bright moon won’t be visible though. Sky watchers might need to wait for cloud cover to pass to see the moon's full enormity. The good news is that Monday evening is expected to be quite comfortable outdoors. Rain isn’t part of the forecast and the evening low is expected to fall into the low 60s.

Supermoons aren’t necessarily rare, but this one is rather special. The full moon in October was considered a “supermoon.” December’s is also expected to be classified as a supermoon. What make’s Monday’s moon so unique is that it will be the biggest 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.

If you miss it, don't worry. You'll only have to wait 18 more years.

For an extended forecast in your neighborhood, visit your local Patch’s homepage.

Patch's Marc Torrence contributed to this story.

Image via Biswarup Ganguly, used under Creative Commons