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The Second Supermoon of the Year Will Light Up the Sky Tonight

News Astronomy
by Eben Diskin Mar 9, 2020

Take a peek skyward tonight and you may be treated to the second supermoon of the year. The moon will look its fullest at 1:48 PM ET, but you’ll have to wait until early evening, when the sky darkens, to actually see it. That means looking skyward around 7:01 PM on the East Coast, 6:59 PM in the Midwest, and 7:12 PM on the West Coast.

A supermoon is when a new or full moon is within 90 percent of its closest approach to Earth, making it appear larger and brighter than usual.

Four supermoons are scheduled in 2020 between February and May: February 9, March 9, April 7, and May 7. The biggest and brightest of them all will happen on April 7.

According to NASA, this full moon is also sometimes called Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sap Moon, Sugar Moon, Worm Moon, and Lenten Moon. The names all refer to the warming and the arrival of spring. In the case of the Lenten Moon, it occurs during Lent, the period of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter.

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