DETROIT (WWJ) - Look up! We're about to see one of the most vibrant moons of the year.
On Monday, March 9, sky watchers can delight as they gaze upon a brilliant full moon. But this isn’t any ordinary full moon -- it's a supermoon.
The moon will appear extra vibrant because it is lower in the sky at its closest point to Earth, which also makes it appear larger.
Although we'll see two more supermoons this year, in April and May, astronomers say Monday's supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2020.
To watch the supermoon, simply look for the moon to rise in the east as the sun sets in the west. Astronomers say the moon will reach its peak fullness around 1:48 p.m. Monday and will appear full for about three days centered on this time, from early Sunday morning into early Wednesday morning.
According to NASA, the moon’s orbit around Earth is slightly elliptical so sometimes it's closer and sometimes it's farther away. When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth, it is known as a supermoon. At perigree — the point at which the moon is closest to Earth — the moon can be as much as 14 percent closer to Earth than at apogee, when the moon is farthest from our planet. The full moon appears much larger in diameter and because it is larger, shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth.
March's full moon is also known as the "Crow Moon," and is generally considered the last full moon of winter. As the story goes, this full moon got its nickname due to the cawing of crows as they feast on earthworms that appear as the ground thaws from winter.