Taiwan to see biggest full moon in six years Wednesday

Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA) This year's largest full moon -- the biggest and brightest in six years -- will appear on Wednesday, according to the Taipei Astronomical Museum.

In a statement Monday, the museum said that when a full moon occurs near the moon's closest point to Earth, known as its perigee, it is called a "perigee full moon," or more commonly, a "supermoon."

The full moons in both November and December 2025 will qualify as supermoons, the museum said.

On Wednesday, the full moon will reach its peak at 9:19 p.m., about nine hours after reaching its perigee at a distance of 356,978 kilometers from Earth.

It will appear roughly one-sixth larger and one-third brighter than April's smallest full moon, with an apparent diameter of 0.57 degrees -- the largest since February 2019 -- the museum said. The moon typically measures a half a degree in the sky.

To mark the occasion, the museum will host a super full moon observation event from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in front of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, where telescopes and guided sessions will be provided for the public to enjoy the view.

While the size difference between the largest and smallest full moons is similar to that between NT$50 and NT$10 coins, the so-called "moon illusion" that will occur Wednesday will make it seem especially spectacular, the museum said.

A moon illusion is when the moon appears larger near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky.