What is a supermoon?
A supermoon is a full moon that is within 90% of its closest point, or perigee, to Earth in its orbit. While closer, that perigee is still about 226,000 miles from Earth.
In general, supermoons appear 17% bigger and 30% brighter than when the moon is at its farthest point away from Earth, NASA says.
The supermoon starting Thursday was also called the Sturgeon Moon — named after a large fish — by the Algonquin Native American tribe, in what is currently the northeastern U.S. It is also known as the Green Corn Moon, according to NASA.
