Starting from 4 PM ET on Saturday, January 21, the new supermoon will make its way into the Boston sky. The moon will reach a point coined “perigee” by Astrologer Richard Noelle. This indicates the moon is in its closest orbit to earth, but despite the close proximity is only visible when there is a full moon in the night sky.
The term “super” indicates the moon’s distance to the earth rather than the size of the moon, as noted with the previous micro wolf moon-which indicated the moon to be at apogee (or at its farthest point from the earth).
Since Saturday’s new moon is not a full supermoon, according to NASA, it will not be visible from the earth, full supermoons are the only ones we can see, and a stunning celestial event they are!
That being said, this new supermoon is still an exciting indicator of the commencement of the Lunar New Year, which begins on Sunday, January 22! Celebrations traditionally run the entire first month of the Chinese Lunar calendar, with the bulk of festivities in Boston occurring on Sunday, January 29 such as the Lion’s Dance Parade and public origami classes!