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A Supermoon is a Full Moon near perigee · MoonX phase illustration

Supermoon

A Supermoon happens when a Full (or New) Moon coincides with perigee — the closest point in the Moon’s slightly elliptical orbit around Earth, about 363,300 km away versus roughly 405,500 km at apogee. That distance difference is enough to make a Supermoon look up to about 14% larger and 30% brighter than a Full Moon at its farthest point, though the difference is subtle enough that most people won’t spot it without a side-by-side comparison — the “huge Moon on the horizon” effect people photograph is actually a well-documented optical illusion, and it happens at any Full Moon near the horizon.

Next supermoon

Full Moon

November 24, 2026

14:53

In 25 days

Distance

360,800 km

Size vs apogee

+12% larger

Brightness

+26% brighter

Beaver Moon · Full Moon in Gemini · Supermoon

When is the next Supermoon?

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The next Supermoon is a Full Moon on November 24, 2026 at 14:53 UTC.

Supermoon dates

8 in the next 18 months

Full Moon supermoon dates and the Moon’s distance
Date	Distance
Sat, Jan 3, 2026Passed 10:02 · Wolf Moon	362,300 km
Tue, Nov 24, 2026 14:53 · Beaver Moon	360,800 km
Thu, Dec 24, 2026 01:28 · Cold Moon	356,700 km
Fri, Jan 22, 2027 12:17 · Wolf Moon	357,600 km
Sat, Feb 20, 2027 23:23 · Snow Moon	363,300 km
Wed, Jan 12, 2028 04:02 · Wolf Moon	360,300 km
Thu, Feb 10, 2028 15:03 · Snow Moon	356,700 kmClosest
Sat, Mar 11, 2028 01:06 · Worm Moon	358,100 km
Sun, Apr 9, 2028 10:26 · Pink Moon	363,900 km

5 in the next 18 months

New Moon supermoon dates and the Moon’s distance
Date	Distance
Wed, Aug 12, 2026Passed 17:36	366,900 km
Fri, Jun 4, 2027 19:40	364,200 km
Sun, Jul 4, 2027 03:02	358,800 km
Mon, Aug 2, 2027 10:05	357,400 kmClosest
Tue, Aug 31, 2027 17:41	360,300 km
Thu, Sep 30, 2027 02:35	367,100 km

There’s no single official cutoff for what counts as a Supermoon — different sources use slightly different thresholds, so lists vary by a moon or two. We use Richard Nolle’s original definition — a Full or New Moon within 90% of the Moon’s closest approach in that orbit — the same rule as our Full and New Moon calendars. Times are in your local time zone.

How often does a Supermoon happen?

Full Moon supermoons happen three to five times a year, and almost always in a row. Perigee and the Full Moon drift in and out of alignment over about 14 months, so they arrive in clusters of consecutive months and then don’t happen for the rest of the year.

New Moon supermoons happen just as often — three to five a year, also in clusters. They sit roughly half a year away from the Full Moon cluster: when perigee stops lining up with the Full Moon, it starts lining up with the New Moon instead, and about six months later the pattern swaps back.

The reason for both is the same. The Moon reaches perigee every 27.55 days, but a Full or New Moon comes every 29.53 days. The two cycles only line up periodically — which is why Supermoons come in bunches and the gaps between them run about ten months.

Super Full Moon vs Full Moon: what’s the difference?

Every Super Full Moon is a Full Moon — but most Full Moons are not Supermoons. The difference is distance, not phase.

Super Full Moon and Ordinary Full Moon compared
	Super Full Moon	Ordinary Full Moon
Distance from Earth	About 356,000–368,000 km (near perigee)	384,400 km on average
Apparent size	Up to ~8% wider (14% vs the farthest)	Baseline
Brightness	Up to ~16% brighter (30% vs the farthest)	Baseline
How often	3–5 times a year	Every 29.5 days
Visible to the eye	Only side by side	—
Tides	A few inches above a normal spring tide	Spring tide

Why you probably can’t tell. Fourteen percent sounds like a lot, but it is the difference between a coin at arm’s length and the same coin a hand’s width closer. What people photograph as a “huge moon” is the Moon Illusion — the Moon looks bigger near the horizon at any phase, and cameras show it is the same size.

Super New Moon vs New Moon: what’s the difference?

Perigee lines up with the New Moon just as often as with the Full Moon, and the result is a Super New Moon — the same close approach, but nothing to look at.

Super New Moon and Ordinary New Moon compared
	Super New Moon	Ordinary New Moon
Distance from Earth	About 356,000–368,000 km (near perigee)	384,400 km on average
Visible	No	No
Apparent size	Irrelevant — the lit side faces away	—
Tides	A few inches above a normal spring tide	Spring tide
How often	3–5 times a year	Every 29.5 days

The only thing you can actually notice is the tide. At both New and Full Moon the Sun and Moon pull in line, which already produces the higher spring tides; add perigee and the effect gets stronger still. Coastal flooding warnings around a Super New Moon are about this, not about anything visible in the sky.

A Super New Moon counts under the original definition and appears in many supermoon lists. It is a real event by the numbers — just not a sight.

What does a Supermoon mean in astrology?

In astrology, a Supermoon is read as the same phase with the volume turned up. Proximity is taken to intensify whatever that phase already does — which means a Super Full Moon and a Super New Moon amplify opposite things.

Super Full Moon

A Full Moon is read as culmination: what was set in motion becomes visible, and what has been held out of sight tends to surface. A Super Full Moon is said to do this harder — bigger reactions, sharper realizations, less room to look away.

The sign it falls in matters more than usual for the same reason, and because Supermoons cluster, three in a row will move through three consecutive signs.

Super New Moon

A New Moon is read as beginning: intention before anything has taken shape. A Super New Moon is said to intensify that — a stronger reset, and traditionally the best moment of the year for an intention you mean to carry a long way.

It also passes unnoticed by most people, precisely because there is nothing to see. In practice that is the whole character of the phase: the most consequential moment of the cycle looks like an ordinary dark night.

A Super Full Moon ritual

Because it is a Full Moon, the usual practices apply — completion, release, gratitude. What practitioners add is scale.

write down what you’re ready to finish, not what you’re starting
charge crystals or moon water under some of the brightest moonlight of the year
sit with whatever surfaces — this phase is said to amplify, not soften
name one thing you’re grateful the cycle brought
go outside and look, even for five minutes

A Super New Moon ritual

Because it is a New Moon, this is about beginnings — and there is nothing to go outside and see, so the practice is mostly indoors.

write one intention you intend to carry past this cycle
sit in actual darkness for a few minutes before writing anything
keep it short enough to remember without the page
if you’re near the coast, notice the tide — it is the one thing you can observe
mark the Full Moon six months out and plan to re-read what you wrote

How to see and photograph a Supermoon

Look at moonrise. That is when the Moon is low enough to frame against buildings or hills, and when the Moon Illusion makes it look largest — the two effects together give the photographs people expect from a Supermoon.

Camera settings. A Supermoon is up to 30% brighter than the farthest Full Moon, so if anything you need a shorter exposure, not longer. Start at f/11 with shutter speed matching your ISO, switch to spot metering, and focus manually. Below 200mm the Moon is a bright dot; 300–600mm is where the detail is.

On a phone. Tap to focus on the Moon, drag the exposure slider well down, turn night mode off. Optical zoom only — digital zoom enlarges noise.

What actually shows the difference. A single photo won’t prove anything. Shoot the same framing at the same focal length at a Supermoon and at a Full Moon near apogee, and put the two side by side — that is the only way the 14% becomes visible.