Rare supermoon brightest its been in 69 years

The solar system revealed one of its many tricks last night during a rare supermoon.

The moon was the brightest it had been in 69 years.

David Hanes, an astronomy professor at Queen’s University, said the moon’s orbit changes quite often, which is why a supermoon is a rare occurrence.

Hanes said while the moon may appear bigger on the horizon than up in the sky, that is not actually the case.

“Here’s a simple test you can try: when you see the moon low on the horizon, hold your thumb out at arm’s length and you’ll discover that your thumb completely cover up the face of the moon even though it looks huge. Try that again later in the night when it’s high up in the sky and it’s exactly the same.”

Moon starting to set over Chaplin, Saskatchewan #supermoon #supermoon2016 pic.twitter.com/gC2d9Z7wTc

— Notanee Bourassa (@DJHardwired) November 14, 2016

Birthday Supermoon (@ Wascana Valley Natural Area in Lumsden, Saskatchewan) https://t.co/SE7NOhgNU4 pic.twitter.com/P55ek5yWWn

— Lori-Jo (@EdgeFest) November 13, 2016

Hanes said we won’t see another supermoon until 2034.