Supermoon To Rise Over Houston This Weekend; Viewing Time Here

HOUSTON, TX — A Supermoon will rise over America on Sunday evening for the last time in 2017. In Houston, it will rise at 5:5o p.m. Sunday night. The best viewing times are considered the first half hour after the moon rises. Viewing might not be as clear in the Bayou City as the forecast calls for showers early then scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. The evening calls for partly cloudy skies and a 20 percent chance of rain in the Houston region.

A Supermoon doesn't happen every month – the ones in May, September, and November are the most well-known. Each one has at least one special name. The May moon is also known as the Flower Moon, September's is called the Harvest Moon, and December's has several names including the Full Cold Moon, the Beaver Moon and the Hunter's Moon.

It's called a supermoon because the moon, which doesn't have a perfectly circular orbit, gets closer to the Earth, sometimes more than 30,000 miles closer. As a result, it appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.

While it won't be fully "super" on Saturday, it still should be a good sight on Saturday when it rises at 4:57 p.m.

If you're looking to take a picture, remember as good as your cell phone camera is, it may not be the best for capturing the moment in this case. And if you miss this moon, don't worry. Two more are expected in January – on the 2nd and 31st.

Photo via Christopher Polk/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Patch national writer Colin Miner contributed to this report