Grab your telescopes and imaging gadgets to capture a rare opportunity. Moreover, if you like stories about how the moon transforms humans in werewolves, you might soon reach the peak of those stories because a July supermoon shines this weekend. April offered us the occasion to gaze at the total lunar eclipse.

The Supermoon is a full-sized moon which is 30% brighter and 14% lighter than in its usual form. Supersized moons occur when usual moons reach the “perigee”, the closest point to Earth. This weekend supermoon will be the first in three this month, and according to NASA, the next ones will happen on August 10 and September 9 . So you can have a larger perspective on distances, the difference between the perigee and the farthest point, called apogee, is 50,000 kilometers. Actually, before being named supermoons by astrologer Richard Nolle over 30 years ago, supersized moons were called “perigean new moons” or “perigean full moons”.

July Supermoon shines this weekend and again in August

Geoff Chester, an astronomer at the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, stated that supermoons are actually pretty common, occurring every 18 months and 13 days, but according to Oregon Live, there is an average of 4 to 6 supermoons each year. In case you worried you might miss  it, you won’t miss all them.

So this is definitely an interesting plan for this weekend, you might grab your significant other and spend together a romantic evening staring at the sky, hoping to find some interesting elephant shapes in this supersized moon. Unfortunately, for the common observer, the supermoons might not be so easy to see, since clouds might obscure its brightness. But humans have a way of getting what they want and if you want to see a supermoon, you will actually see it, even if what you see is not real. All because of an interesting illusory effect that makes moons seem bigger around trees or buildings, according to News Discovery. So whether you are in a crowded neighborhood or in a forest, you might still have a shot to seeing that supermoon. And if you want more tips, try to see the moon at the horizon, scientists claim that, even though there isn’t an actual change in its size, the moon you see appears larger. In this case, going to the seaside might make your supermoon an enormous eye in your face.

Although the July supermoon shines this weekend, the largest supersized moon will occur in August, so make sure you keep some of your enthusiasm for that occasion too.