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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

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Photo: Supermoon instant replay

The July 12, 2014, full moon over Spokane was a
The July 12, 2014, full moon over Spokane was a "super moon." (Craig Goodwin)

SKY WATCHING -- In case you missed it, Spokane photographer Craig Goodwin snapped this photo of  Saturday's supermoon.

Super moons appear larger because their orbit is closer to the earth.

Supermoons can appear as much as 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than regular full moons, notes NASA.

We get two more chances to see supermoons in 2014:

  • Aug. 10 -- the largest of the three.
  • Sept. 9.

A supermoon, also known as a "perigee moon," occurs when a moon turns full around the same time it reaches "perigee," the closest point to Earth along its elliptical orbit.

On Saturday, the moon was 222,611 miles away from Earth -- that's 30,000 miles closer than at its farthest distance in 2014. The moon will be at its closest this year on Aug. 10, when it will be 221,748 miles from Earth.



Rich Landers

Rich Landers joined The Spokesman-Review in 1977. He is the Outdoors editor for the Sports Department writing and photographing stories about hiking, hunting, fishing, boating, conservation, nature and wildlife and related topics.

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