Why Monday’s supermoon is the most super it’s been since 1948

This won’t be your average full moon.

Monday’s supermoon will be the biggest, brightest and closest it’s been to Earth in almost 70 years.

The moon’s orbit around our planet is elliptical, meaning the distance from Earth varies: sometimes it’s further away, sometimes it’s closer.

“When the moon is full as it makes its closest pass to Earth, it is known as a supermoon,” according to NASA. “The full moon appears that much larger in diameter and because it is larger shines 30 percent more moonlight onto the Earth.”

Oct. 16 was the last supermoon. Monday's moon will be its closest pass to Earth as a full moon since 1948.

“We won’t see another supermoon like this until 2034,” according to NASA.

If you want to mark your calendars, that’s Nov. 25, 2034, to be precise.

But if you do miss Monday's supermoon, there will be another supermoon on Dec. 14.

That means we will see three straight supermoons to round out 2016.

This story was originally published November 12, 2016 at 8:30 AM with the headline "Why Monday’s supermoon is the most super it’s been since 1948."