Supermoon 2017: How to see it in Chicago Sunday

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicagoans can expect to see a supermoon on Sunday night and Monday morning.

ABC7 Meteorologist Larry Mowry broke down when the supermoon will be visible in Chicago and what exactly a supermoon is.

Moonrise Sunday evening will be at 4:52 p.m. and moonset will be at 7:50 a.m. Monday.

The moon will look bigger when it is near the horizon and framed with a building or object on the foreground. That's because of an optical illusion that makes the moon look much larger to the human eye.

WHAT IS A SUPERMOON?

"Supermoon" is a popular term that has become more common in recent years, referring to a full moon that occurs when the moon is closest to the Earth in its orbit.

The orbit of the moon is an elliptical; there are times in the moon's orbit where it is closer to the Earth, and other times when it is farther away. When a full moon occurs at one of its closest points to the Earth, it's called a supermoon.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN

This full moon will be almost exactly like any other full moon, but for frequent observers of the moon, it may appear brighter and slightly larger. In fact, it will be about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent bigger than a full moon that occurs when the moon is farthest away from Earth in its orbit.

FORECAST SUNDAY NIGHT

The forecast indicates some cloud cover Sunday night, but there may be a few breaks in the clouds to take a peek at the moon.

NEXT SUPERMOONS

The next time a supermoon will occur is on January 2, 2018, followed by Februrary 19, 2019 and April 8, 2020.