When a full moon aligns with the moon coming closest to Earth on its elliptical orbit, viewers on Terra Prime are treated to an extra bright nighttime show.

The so-called supermoon phenomena is set to occur again this week with optimum viewing in North America happening at dusk Thursday.

During every 27-day orbit around Earth, the moon reaches both its perigee, about 226,000 miles from Earth, and its farthest point, or apogee, about 251,000 miles from Earth, NASA explains.

Because the moon’s orbit wobbles and differs depending on where the sun and Earth are in their orbits, the exact distance of the closest and furthest points varies, and some supermoons are closer or farther than others. “Supermoon” isn’t an official astronomical term, NASA says, but typically it’s used to describe a f

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