On November 5th, 2025; the largest supermoon of the year appeared in the sky. A supermoon is when a full moon is closer to the earth on its orbit than usual because of the irregular orbit of the moon around the earth. The supermoon can appear 14% larger in its diameter.
Without a good explanation, a supermoon can be frightening to see. In some Native American Cultures, a supermoon means death but also rebirth. It also means a time of enlightenment and spiritual growth in Eastern Buddhist religions. In Ancient Greek and Roman mythologies it was seen as a significant approach from the goddesses who personified the moon. For Ancient Egypt and Babylon, the supermoon was seen as an important signal from the gods for when a new season starts because of their moon centric views. Each of these cultural meanings of the supermoon show various meanings that vary in importance and mysticity to the different peoples.
The moon has a basic concept of its phases. The moon cycle lasts about 30 days and with this regular rate, it was easier to make a calendar based on these phases because the cycle repeats. One main phase is the new moon which is where the moon is fully dark. It starts waxing and gets to the first quarter which is where half of the moon is lit, the full moon, where the supermoon is, is when the moon is fully lit, and the waning after the full moon leads to the third quarter which has half lit again. The cycle then repeats with many in between phases. This is caused by the sun’s light reflecting off of the moon. The light always hits from the same direction but when the moon goes around the earth the light can only spread so far across it.
There are a few other interesting states of the moon. A lunar eclipse happens during a full moon phase when the moon goes in perfect alignment with the earth and the sun with it furthest away from the sun. The shadow of the earth makes the moon appear red to our own eyes. A solar eclipse is when the moon goes in perfect alignment between the sun and earth. The moon then blots out the sun, leaving a ring of light that is a focused beam of sunlight. It makes the earth look like it is evening and you can only look at it with eclipse glasses because it can cause permanent eye damage. 
Another thing about the moon is that you always see the same side of it. This is caused by a perfect lunar rotation and orbit around the earth. This means that as the moon orbits, it spins the opposite direction in a way that makes it only show the same side to the earth. One last fact about the moon is that its gravitational pull on the earth causes tides because it pulls some of the water up higher than it was.
