Moon was nearly full on Saturday night, January 10 of 2009, the biggest and brightest of the year. According to NASA, the moon appeared about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009. A similar occurrence turned out in December last year, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008. We were at the Griffith Observatory and tried to catch a glimpse of the amazing sight, after a surprise B-Day party in Alhambra.
Here are some interesting facts about this phenomenon:
“Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. On Saturday night (Jan. 10), the moon was at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.
A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes. At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.
A departing fact: The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually this drift will force the moon to take 47 days to circle our world.”
Here are some interesting facts about this phenomenon:
“Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days. But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. On Saturday night (Jan. 10), the moon was at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.
A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes. At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.
A departing fact: The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually this drift will force the moon to take 47 days to circle our world.”
I can't help but thinking about when the moon rose up in the sky it appeared absolutely huge and luminous, that bound to have some loony and spooky effects on some human and animal behavior. When the moon is full, people will party, dogs will bite, robbers will steal, murderers will kill, and werewolves will come out…
Reference:
Brightest Full Moon of 2009 Tonight!
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