What you need to know for the best view of the full ‘supermoon’ in the Lowcountry

The weather is shaping up to be mild this weekend in the Lowcountry, but the sky overhead will feature a “cold moon.”

The full moon on Sunday night will appear larger and brighter than usual, according to National Geographic. This is the year’s first full moon that is a “supermoon” — when the moon is especially close to Earth.

The best time for moon-watching will be just after sunset, when the moon is beginning to rise.

In Beaufort County, Sunday’s sunset will be at 5:17 p.m. Moonrise will be at 5:45 p.m.

December’s full moon is traditionally known as the “cold moon” or the “long nights moon” because of its timing near the winter solstice, the shortest day in the year, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

(Incidentally, the Farmer’s Almanac also suggests this weekend should be a good one for fishing.)

The National Weather Service in Charleston says skies Sunday night should be mostly clear.

In case your view happens to be obscured by clouds, you’ll get two more chances in January. The full moons on Jan. 2 and Jan. 31 both will be supermoons.

The Virtual Telescope Project plans to livestream the supermoon over the skyline of Rome on its website.

This story was originally published November 30, 2017 at 5:41 AM with the headline "What you need to know for the best view of the full ‘supermoon’ in the Lowcountry."