--- title: Super Moon 2017: Here's How to See It description: This Sunday is the only supermoon of 2017, when the full moon coincides with its closest point to Earth. canonical: https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/ author: Billy Perrigo article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-11-28T15:45:30.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T18:21:57.179Z article:section: Science og:title: The Only Supermoon of 2017 Is Sunday. Here’s When to See It og:description: It will be closest to Earth at 4 a.m. – but you don't need to stay up that late og:url: https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552d2413e6afcaff/6988e70bcf40a84f34c4a57a/gettyimages-635746056.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: San Diego Supermoon og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Only Supermoon of 2017 Is Sunday. Here’s When to See It twitter:description: It will be closest to Earth at 4 a.m. – but you don't need to stay up that late twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552d2413e6afcaff/6988e70bcf40a84f34c4a57a/gettyimages-635746056.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Only Supermoon of 2017 Is This Weekend. Here’s When to See It ## Video: The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away [Watch (HLS stream): The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iEIHrSjw.m3u8) (1:31)  _Published 2017-10-09. The moon likely had an ancient, temporary atmosphere — similar to the pocket of gases that surround Earth — around 3 to 4 billion years ago, according to a new study._  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 28, 2017 3:45 PM UTC  NOV. 13 2016 - San Diego skyline super-moon NOV. 13 2016 - San Diego skyline super-moonTom Applegate—Getty Images  by [Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)  ## Billy Perrigo Correspondent Nov 28, 2017 3:45 PM UTC The only [supermoon](http://time.com/4570604/supermoon-views-video/) of 2017 is coming this Sunday. The phenomenon happens when a full moon occurs at the same time the moon is closest to Earth’s orbit. The supermoon will be visible in night skies around the planet, but the best time to see it will be just after sunset. That’s because of the “moon illusion,” the cognitive phenomenon that makes the moon appear bigger to us when it’s closer to the horizon than when it’s further up in the sky. The moon will actually be closest to Earth at 4 a.m. on Monday. Sunday’s supermoon is the first and last one visible to the naked eye in 2017\. But don’t worry too much if you miss it. The next two full moon cycles – Jan. 2 and 31 – will also be supermoons. If it’s cloudy outside or you’re trapped indoors, the [Virtual Telescope Project](https://www.virtualtelescope.eu/webtv/) is scheduled to stream live images of the moon rising over Rome at 11 a.m. ET. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/"},"headline":"The Only Supermoon of 2017 Is This Weekend. Here’s When to See It","datePublished":"2017-11-28T15:45:30.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T18:21:57.179Z","description":"Sunday’s supermoon is the first and last one visible to the naked eye in 2017","url":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/","keywords":["supermoon","Environment","Space","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552d2413e6afcaff/6988e70bcf40a84f34c4a57a/gettyimages-635746056.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Billy Perrigo","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt552d2413e6afcaff/6988e70bcf40a84f34c4a57a/gettyimages-635746056.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"San Diego Supermoon","caption":"San Diego Supermoon","creditText":"Tom Applegate—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/supermoon/","name":"supermoon"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/","name":"The Only Supermoon of 2017 Is This Weekend. Here’s When to See It"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The Moon Once Had an Atmosphere That Faded Away","description":"The moon likely had an ancient, temporary atmosphere — similar to the pocket of gases that surround Earth — around 3 to 4 billion years ago, according to a new study.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/iEIHrSjw/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2017-10-09T19:19:39.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/iEIHrSjw.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/","duration":"PT1M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5039020/supermoon-2017-how-to-see/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```