What is a Supermoon? | National Geographic?

A supermoon is when the full moon looks bigger and brighter because it’s closer to Earth.

Imagine you have a favorite toy that glows in the dark, like a shiny nightlight. When it's right next to you, it seems super bright and big. But when it moves far away, it looks smaller and not as bright. That’s kind of what happens with the full moon during a supermoon.

The moon orbits Earth like a kid riding around on a swing, sometimes it's close, sometimes it's far. When the moon is at its closest point to Earth and also in the full moon phase (when we see all of its shiny side), that’s when we get a supermoon.

It looks bigger because it’s closer, just like your toy nightlight seems bigger when it's right next to you. And it looks brighter too, kind of like how your room feels more lit up with the nightlight close by.

So next time you see a supermoon, imagine your favorite glowing toy getting extra bright and big, that's what’s happening in the sky!