Supermoon 2014 Dates: When is the Next Supermoon? And What is It?

Supermoon 2014 Dates: When is the Next Supermoon? And What is It?
The moon rises between a tent, left, and a ride at State Fair Meadowlands, Sunday, June 23, 2013, in East Rutherford, N.J. The so-called supermoon appeared up to 14 percent larger than normal this weekend as our celestial neighbor swung closer to Earth, reaching its closest distance early Sunday morning. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Zachary Stieber
6/17/2014
Updated:
7/18/2015

Two supermoons have already passed in 2014 but one is coming up.

Those two happened in January; the next one is slated for July 12.

Supermoons refer to when the moon is slightly closer to Earth in its orbit than usual.

The effect of the closer orbit is most noticeable when there is a full moon.

“So, the moon may seem bigger although the difference in its distance from Earth is only a few percent at such times,” said Dr. James Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center on the space agency’s website. “It is called a supermoon because this is a very noticeable alignment that at first glance would seem to have an effect. The ’super' in supermoon is really just the appearance of being closer.”

Because of how close the supermoon is, it can appear as much as 14 percent larger in the sky and 30 percent brighter to our eyes than normal moons, according to NASA.

(NOAA)

These supermoons don’t typically impact the Earth in any big ways, though they usually bring higher tides. Perigee new moons, or perigee full moons, elevate the tides even more than normal supermoons, according to EarthSky.

“Each month, on the day of the new moon, the Earth, moon and sun are aligned, with the moon in between. This line-up creates wide-ranging tides, known as spring tides. High spring tides climb up especially high, and on the same day low tides plunge especially low,” it reports.

“The January 1 and 30 extra-close new moons will accentuate the spring tide, giving rise to what’s called a perigean spring tide. If you live along an ocean coastline, watch for high tides caused by the two January 2014 new moons – or supermoons. Will these high tides cause flooding? Probably not, unless a strong weather system accompanies the perigean spring tide. Still, keep an eye on the weather, because storms do have a large potential to accentuate perigean spring tides.”

The other supermoons this year are forecasted to happen on July 12, August 10, and September 9.

The one is August is supposed to be the closet to Earth.