Families: Watch the ‘supermoon’ rise Saturday

This month’s full moon, which is Saturday, Aug. 29, will be the first of three so-called “supermoons” over the next two months.

Supermoons got their nickname some 30 years ago from an astrologer, according to the astronomy website EarthSky.org.

Astronomers call them “perigee moons,” but the term supermoon has come into popular use for a full moon that occurs at perigee in the lunar cycle. Perigee is when the moon is closest to the Earth in its elliptical orbit, making it appear larger — especially at moonrise, when light rays are distorted by Earth’s atmosphere.

This story was originally published August 26, 2015 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Families: Watch the ‘supermoon’ rise Saturday."