Largest Supermoon of 2014 Rises This Weekend

Sky-watchers gazing at the full moon this Sunday, Aug. 10 will be in for a real treat, for the largest and brightest moon of the year will rise in the evening sky - known as an "extra-supermoon."

This lunar event will be the second of three supermoons to occur this summer. It will appear at 2:10 p.m. EDT, just 26 minutes after the Moon reaches its full phase.

Coincidental timing is the only explanation for this in fact, not-so-rare sighting. The Moon will be at its closest approach to Earth for 2014, at 221,765 miles (356,896 kilometers) away, as well as will be in its full moon phase - making it appear 16 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.

Perfect timing like this won't occur again until 2034.

Though most people refer to it as a supermoon, the technical term in the astrology world is "perigee full moon," National Geographic reports.

Amazingly, this Aug. 10 supermoon is not the only one gracing the skies this summer. Nature World News recently reported of the supermoon that occurred July 12, and for those who miss this weekend's event, you can always catch the final supermoon of the summer on Sept. 9.

Although this sequence of events may seem rare, Geoff Chester of the US Naval Observatory is quick to contradict this misconstrued notion.

"Generally speaking, full Moons occur near perigee every 13 months and 18 days, so it's not all that unusual," he said in a NASA release. "In fact, just last year there were three perigee Moons in a row, but only one was widely reported."

The monthly full moon always looks impressive, but what makes this supermoon so super is that, due to its egg-shaped orbit, it will be at what astronomers call perigee - its shortest distance from Earth during its month-long lunar cycle.

Likewise, because the size of the moon's orbit varies slightly, each monthly perigee is not always the same distance away from Earth, according to National Geographic.

Though the combination of its proximity to Earth and full phase makes this moon special, don't be surprised if you can't spot the difference between this extra-supermoon and all other full moons. The difference in distance between the Earth and Moon from last month's supermoon will only be a few hundred miles - something the naked eye can't detect.

"I guarantee that some folks will think it's the biggest Moon they've ever seen if they catch it rising over a distant horizon, because the media will have told them to pay attention to this particular one," Chester added.