VIDEO: Everything you need to know about the supermoon lighting up SA’s sky

The supermoon, which appears larger and brighter than other moons, reached its peak on Wednesday night.

While clouds may have obscured the moon for some South Africans, it would have brought welcome light for the many parts of the country being load shedded.

A supermoon refers to a full moon with 90% of its closest distance to earth.

The moon’s distance from earth varies from 350 000km to more than 400 00km from earth.

It appears up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter.

The term “supermoon” has only been used in the past 40 years, but it received a slew of attention in late 2016 when three supermoons occurred in a row, according to space.com.

It said the supermoon of November 2016 was also the closest one in 69 years, although a closer one would rise in the 2030s.