Supermoon to light up China's Lantern Festival

For Chinese people who have the tradition of going out on the streets to appreciate the dazzling array of lanterns on display at the annual Lantern Festival, they will have one more beautiful item to gaze upon this year– a super large and bright moon.

The opportune coincidence will see the biggest and brightest full moon of the year to shine on the night of the festival, which falls on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year.

"A supermoon occurs when the moon is simultaneously full and at its perigee (the point in the moon's orbit when it is closest to Earth). When this happens, the moon appears 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter in the sky than usual," said Hu Fanghao, director of science popularization at the Purple Mountain Observatory.

The supermoon could be seen across China on the night of the Lantern Festival. The ideal viewing time is set to be at 11: 54 pm tomorrow when the moon will be at its fullest.