This weekend, stargazers and astronomers will get a rare chance to observe the year's largest full moon, also known as supermoon.
On 23 June, the moon will be at its closet distance to Earth in its orbit, a distance of 221,823 miles away (356,991 km).
In India, people can watch the supermoon all night after 6.40 pm on Sunday. But the best time to view the full moon is between 4.30 am to 5.30 am (7 am EDT) on Monday when it is very close to the horizon.
The moon will appear about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than usual.
"The Supermoon on Sunday will be doubly special as this is the closest that the moon has come to the earth since last year in May and it will be a full moon," said Raghunandan Kumar, director and founder secretary of the Planetary Society of India.
The supermoon occurs once a year and the next phenomenon is said to occur next year on 10 August.
People can also watch a high-definition live stream of the event. SLOOH, a team of astronomers that gives live coverage of celestial phenomena, will cover the supermoon phenomenon live on Sunday from their Canary Islands observatory.
One can follow their website on Slooh.com or also watch the live stream that will start on 23 June at 6 pm EDT and 9 pm EDT. Viewers can also download Slooh iPad app from the iTunes store to watch the phenomenon live on their PC, MAC and mobile devices. A Slooh broadcast team and astronomer Bob Berman, will provide live commentary of the event.
One can also check the international times of the event, courtesy SLOOH, here.
Astronomers believe that the supermoon can cause natural disasters. This Sunday's full moon will have an effect on high and low ocean tides.
"This unusual perfect confluence of lunar perigee and full Moon will create the highest tides of the year. We can expect expose-the-sand lows and lap-the-boardwalk highs on Sunday and especially Monday, since the oceans usually require a day to catch up with the behavior of the Moon," Berman explained.
Watch the live stream of the celestial phenomena here: [Also Read: Supermoon Illuminates Night Sky [Stunning Photos]
