Supermoon Sunday

Super full moon happening Sunday, but after Detroit's moonset

DETROIT – First, some quick Astronomy 101 - The moon revolves around the Earth but not in a circle. Its path is elliptical. The event of the moon's closest approach to Earth is called lunar perigee. This event takes place Sunday and it coincides with the full moon making it a Super Full Moon or Supermoon.

According to NASA, this year's Supermoon will be up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than a typical Full Moon.  The celestial body will be "only" about 221,824 miles away from Earth, compared to 252,581 miles away when it is farthest from Earth (apogee). Apogee is July 7th.

If skies are clear enough early Sunday morning, Detroiters will see the full moon. However, the exact time of the Super Full Moon is 7:32 am, which is after Detroit's moonset time of 6:13am.

The best way for Motor City area residents or any Michiganders to see the Super Full Moon is to find friends or relatives west of Texas and the Great Plains and ask them record the event or set up a webcam connection outdoors to see the event live.

Otherwise, Local 4 will get video of the event and show it on Local 4 News or clickondetroit.com