AstroPixels<\/a>. Lunar perigee \u2014 the point in the moon\u2019s monthly orbit when the moon is nearest to Earth \u2014 occurred just three hours and 36 minutes earlier, late on June 14. That tight timing makes June 15 the closest super new moon of 2026.<\/p>\nWhat Is A \u2018Super New Moon?\u2019<\/p>\n
A supermoon occurs when a full moon or new moon happens near lunar perigee. Full supermoons get all the attention because they can appear slightly larger and brighter than usual in the night sky \u2014 they\u2019re major observing events.<\/p>\n
A super new moon is different. During a new moon, the moon sits between Earth and the sun, with its illuminated side facing away from us. That is why even an unusually close new moon generally cannot be seen.<\/p>\n
A super new moon still matters. With no bright moonlight washing out the sky, new moon nights are among the best times for stargazing, astrophotography and deep-sky observing. And it will have a heightened effect on tides.<\/p>\n
Christmas Eve Brings The Closest Full Supermoon<\/p>\n
While June 15 sees the closest super new moon of 2026, the year\u2019s most eye-catching supermoon is yet to come. At 01:28 UTC on December 24 \u2014 Christmas Eve \u2014 the \u201cCold Moon\u201d will be 221,668 miles (356,740 kilometers) from Earth, ever so slightly closer than the June new moon. And unlike the June new moon, this full-moon supermoon will be visible, bright and large in the night sky \u2014 watching it rise in the east at dusk on Christmas Eve is sure to be one of the most memorable night sky events of 2026.<\/p>\n
The second-closest full-moon supermoon of 2026 occurs on Nov. 24, when the moon will be 224,171 miles (360,768 kilometers) from Earth. The third-closest comes on January 3, at 225,130 miles (362,312 kilometers).<\/p>\n
The Closest \u2018Super New Moons\u2019 In 2026<\/p>\n
There are five super new moons in 2026, each occurring when the moon is relatively close to Earth. The closest is today\u2019s, the second closest occurred last month, and the third closest arrives on July 14, when the moon will be 223,789 miles (360,154 kilometers) away, about 26 hours after perigee. The fourth closest occurred on April 14, and the final super new moon of the year occurs on Aug. 12 \u2014 and that one will be visible.<\/p>\n
August 12\u2019s Total Solar Eclipse<\/p>\n
The August 12 super new moon will be especially significant because it causes a total solar eclipse \u2014 the only circumstance in which a new moon can become spectacularly visible, not as a bright lunar disk, but as the dark silhouette that covers the sun.<\/p>\n
The super new moon will be close enough to Earth \u2014 and therefore large enough in the sky \u2014 to completely cover the sun, sending a dark shadow about 180 miles wide across parts of Greenland, Iceland and Spain. Along that narrow path of totality, day will briefly turn to night, temperatures will dip, and the sun\u2019s corona will appear around the moon, looking like a \u201chole in the sky.\u201d North America will miss totality, but eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. will see a small partial eclipse. Eclipse glasses will be essential throughout. After sunset, the Perseid meteor shower peaks under dark skies, making August 12 a standout astronomy date.<\/p>\n
Wishing you clear skies and wide eyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Today\u2019s super new moon is 2026\u2019s closest new moon, with a similar phenomena on August 12, 2026, causing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":869442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[24],"tags":[353936,353933,353931,176937,353934,353930,353932,353935,159,783,353928,353929,67,132,68],"class_list":["post-869441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-apparent-diameter","tag-christmas-eve-supermoon","tag-closest-lunar-event-2026","tag-december-full-moon","tag-full-moon-supermoon","tag-june-15-new-moon","tag-lunar-perigee","tag-moon-distance-from-earth","tag-science","tag-space","tag-super-new-moon","tag-supermoon-2026","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116755709677028195","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Total](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1781550618_881_0x0.jpg\")
<\/p>\n