The brightest and the biggest moon of the year could be observed on Tuesday night, from both the northern and southern hemispheres.
This is SUPERMOON, Supermoons happen because the moon doesn't orbit the earth in a perfect circle, but rather in an elliptical path, because it's affected by the sun's gravity. That means its distance from the Earth can vary in the course of a month, from 252,000 miles at its farthest point(apogee) to 225,800 miles at its closest point(perigee.)
So on some occasions, the moon's perigee is closer than others
But a few times a year, the sun, moon and Earth line up just right, so that a perigee coincides with the most dramatic phases of the moon — the new moon, when the orb is just a sliver — or the full moon. That's when we notice because the moon can appear to be slightly bigger and significantly brighter than normal
The moon also needs to be at the full phase, which happens every 29.5 days when the sun fully illuminates the moon. Supermoons only happen a few times a year (at most) because the moon's orbit changes orientation while the Earth orbits the sun — that's why you don't see a supermoon every month.
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