Sunday, March 20, 2011

Glorious Moon

Last night there was a glorious moon out. It was out this morning too as I was out walking. As it got lighter the moon sunk lower and lower in the sky. It appeared to get even larger. Then at the sun was just starting to come up; the moon sunk below the horizon.

If you happened to be out and saw the moon and it seemed larger and brighter that's because it was. Here's an explanation why from the Capital Weather Gang from the Post:

Saturday evening, the biggest full moon since 1993 will rise from the eastern horizon. The moon will appear large because it’s reaching its “perigee”, the closest approach to earth in its orbit. According to NASA, perigree moons are 14% bigger and 30% brighter than moons on the “apogee” side of the moon’s orbit, when it is farthest away from earth. What’s special about Saturday’s perigee moon is that it’s almost coinciding with a full moon, a relatively rare occurrence. Some refer to this coincidence as a “supermoon.”


It certainly made my walk this morning very spectacular.

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