Get ready for Supermoon Sunday

From the Atlantic Ocean...... pic.twitter.com/B03lMnVKUr
— Greg Redfern (@SkyGuyinVA) December 4, 2017

Greg Redfern takes photos of the supermoon Sunday, Dec. 3-4, 2017. (Courtesy Greg Redfern)

The supermoon rises over D.C. in 2016.
(Courtesy Gina Maycock) — The supermoon rises over D.C. in 2016. (Courtesy Gina Maycock)

The supermoon appears near the Statue of Liberty, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016, in New York. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

AP Photo/Julio Cortez

In this photo taken Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, the supermoon rises over a logo for AVIC, or Aviation Industry Corp, a state owned enterprise involved in China’s manned space mission in Beijing. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

In this Tuesday, Dec. 13 2016, photo, a jet liner flies near the supermoon seen from Beijing, China. The supermoon phenomenon which occurs when the moon reaches a point closer than usual, shone brightly Tuesday night in Beijing, as the smog that often blankets China’s capital city and most of the industrial north in winter subsided for the evening. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File

The moon rises over the San Gabriel Valley, as seen from Rosemead, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016. Monday morning's supermoon will be the closet a full moon has been to the Earth since Jan. 26, 1948. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) — The moon rises over the San Gabriel Valley, as seen from Rosemead, Calif., Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Partially obscured by clouds, a full moon rises behind the monument of Christ of Havana in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. The brightest moon in almost 69 years is lighting up the sky in a treat for star watchers around the globe. The phenomenon known as the supermoon reached its peak luminescence in North America before dawn on Monday. Its zenith in Asia and the South Pacific was Monday night. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) — Partially obscured by clouds, a full moon rises behind the monument of Christ of Havana in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. The brightest moon in almost 69 years is lighting up the sky in a treat for star watchers around the globe. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Surf breaks as the moon makes its closest orbit to the Earth since 1948 on November 14, 2016 in Redondo Beach, California. The so-called supermoon appears up to 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter as it comes about 22,000 miles closer to the Earth than average, though to the casual observer, the increase appears slight. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

A passenger plane heading to Los Angeles International Airport passes by the supermoon Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. The phenomenon known as the supermoon occurs because the moon follows an elliptical orbit around the Earth. This week, the moon is coming closer to the Earth than at any time since January 1948. (AP Photo/Nick Ut) — A passenger plane heading to Los Angeles International Airport passes by the supermoon Monday, Nov. 14, 2016. The phenomenon known as the supermoon occurs because the moon follows an elliptical orbit around the Earth. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

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Hello, DMV, from the middle of the Atlantic Ocean aboard Regent Seven Seas EXPLORER. It has been a typical trans-Atlantic crossing in November — read: cloudy and stormy — but it appears to be clearing just in time for Supermoon Sunday. I am hoping to photograph the full cold supermoon as it rises above the sea horizon. That should be something to see.

On Sunday at sunset, you will see a glorious full cold supermoon rising in the east that may appear brighter and a bit larger than other full moons of 2017. The moon will be at full phase (directly opposite the sun) at 10:47 a.m. EST on Sunday and at perigee (closest to the Earth for the month) on Dec. 4th at 3:42 a.m. EST — less than 24 hours apart, hence the supermoon.

This is the only supermoon for 2017 and is also the closest full moon for the year.

This time of year will also make this supermoon brighter, as explained by NASA, “because the Earth will be at its closest to the sun (called perihelion) in early January, the sunlight reaching and reflecting off the Moon this time of year is about 7 percent more intense (than at aphelion in early July), making wintertime supermoons even brighter.”

Spaceweather.com estimates that this full cold supermoon will be 8 percent wider and 16 percent brighter than an average full moon. Experienced moon watchers can tell the size difference but the extra brightness is usually noticed by all.

Go out Saturday night and enjoy the almost full cold supermoon. If Sunday is a wash out, don’t fret. We will have two supermoons in January — the second being a blue moon that will also undergo a total lunar eclipse that will only be a partial lunar eclipse before sunrise for the DMV.

Oh, and when looking at the Moon, wink at it in remembrance of Neil Armstrong — first human to walk on the Moon.

Follow Greg on Twitter @skyguyinva and his daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. Email him at skyguyinva@gmail.com.