Supermoon a Bust in Soggy Southern California

Saturday's lunar spectacle was a bust for storm-weary Southern California residents. Two nights of storms and more than 10 inches of rain kept many Californians from viewing the largest, brightest moonrise in 18 years.

To produce a supermoon, two things must happen together. First, the moon has to be at the closest point to the earth in its elliptical orbit. This is called perigee. And second, the moon must be full during perigee. When this happens, the moon appears up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than normal.

Despite the March 19 date for this month's supermoon, a lunar perigee-syzygy (the scientific term for a supermoon) lasts more than one night.Â Viewers who missed the main event due to weather have until the night of March 22 to try again.

In addition to nighttime viewing, a supermoon is highly visible in daytime skies.In fact, grab your cameras because tomorrow morning presents a great opportunity for getting a shot of the sun and the moon in the same sky.