The Last Supermoon of 2023 Is Coming This Week With 3 Planets

Fans of all things space will be looking up towards the sky this weekend. The last supermoon of 2023 is expected to grace the night sky on Friday night and along with the big moon, viewers should also be able to see three planets Friday night too.

The supermoon, which is also a full moon, is also known as the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon often falls in either September or October, and space.com states that most people "associate the Harvest Moon with September, [but] there are some years where it falls in October."

What makes this moon super?

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Supermoons are called that, because the moon will rise in the sky closer to Earth than normal, causing it to look much larger than normal. Space.com adds that this is the fourth supermoon in a row!

There were four supermoons that happened in a row since July, with two of them in August (the latter was a rare Blue Super Moon) leading to this month's finale. - Space.com

OK so I'll see the moon, but what planets can I also see?

On top of the supermoon shining down on us Friday night, you'll also be able to see Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury. Space.com explains how and where you can see these three planets the best.

"The first planet to visit the final supermoon of 2023 on Saturday will be Saturn, the second-largest planet in the solar system, which will rise at around 6:18 PM and will sit in the Aquarius constellation, according to In the Sky. Saturn’s fellow gas giant and the solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, will rise at 7:17 PM. Jupiter will sit to the left of the Harvest Moon in the Aries constellation. On Saturday, the solar system’s smallest planet, Mercury, will rise at around 04:30 AM. Mercury will share the sky with the full moon for just over an hour before the final supermoon of the year sets." - Space.com

This will also be the last supermoon of the year, you can expect the next one on February 9, 2024, which will be the first of three supermoons in a row!

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