Yes, if you read the headlines, you'll already know that tonight is the biggest full moon of 2009. What does that mean? That headline would lead you to believe that the moon actually shrinks and grows in physical size throughout the year. Is the moon larger tonight than it will be next month? Is the moon closer to Earth during full moon? What is going on? Since I love to debunk (don't even get me started on 2012), let's discuss.
The moon orbits Earth every 29.5 days. However, its orbit is not perfectly circular; it's a little oval shaped, or elliptical. (Impress your friends with that sometime.) That means that it's closer to Earth at some points of its orbit than at others. Tonight is that rare occasion when full moon and the moon's closest point in orbit (called perigee - another SAT word) coincide. This will not happen again during any full moons of 2009, so that makes this the closest (and therefore largest-appearing) full moon of the year.
And no, Mars will not appear as big as the full moon, the moon isn't larger when it rises and the full moon will not categorically make you crazy (or crazier than usual).
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2 comments:
Momstronomer- you are so cool! Love this blog!
I'm so happy you are doing this! I'll pass it on to my mom (she was crushed to hear you were no longer at the museum). I can't believe the Dudestronomer is 18 months already!
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