supermoon

noun

su·per·moon ˈsü-pər-ˌmün

plural supermoons

: a full moon occurring when the moon is at or near the closest point in its orbit

A supermoon … occurs when the moon is full within 24 hours of being at its closest point to the Earth in its orbit.—

Kaleigh Rogers

Visible supermoons appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter than full moons that occur at the farthest point in the moon's orbit.—

Karen Hao

As the first and only supermoon of 2017 rose high into the sky this Sunday (Dec. 3), astrophotographers seized the opportunity to shoot the moon in all its bigger-than-usual glory.—

Hanneke Weitering

Examples of supermoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Look up tonight to see the first supermoon of spring. —

Big Think, 24 June 2024 Super Blue Blood Moon: This is an extremely rare event in which a supermoon (when the moon is at its closest point to Earth), a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse all occur simultaneously. —

Tiffany Acosta, The Arizona Republic, 22 Apr. 2024 When the moon’s orbit brings it closer to Earth than usual, the cosmic combo is called a supermoon. —

Carlie Procell, The Courier-Journal, 25 Jan. 2024 Definitions of a supermoon can vary, but the term generally denotes a full moon that is closer to Earth than normal and thus appears larger and brighter in the night sky. —

Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 24 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for supermoon

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'supermoon.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.