BIGGEST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR: This Friday night, if you think the Moon looks unusually big, you're right. It's the biggest full Moon of 2010. Astronomers call it a "perigee Moon," some 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons of the year. (continued below)
Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle; it is an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. Astronomers call the point of closest approach "perigee," and that is where the Moon will be Friday night.
Look around sunset when the Moon is near the eastern horizon. At that time, illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through foreground objects such as buildings and trees. Why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east may seem close enough to touch.
And what's that bright orange star right beside the Moon?
IT'S MARS! In a coincidence of celestial proportions, the Moon and Mars are having close encounters with Earth at the same time. Moreover, the two will spend Friday night gliding across the sky side-by-side. It's a must-see event.
Thanks to Joanne Merriman from Fort Collins, Colorado for the above information. I met Joanne at a retreat in Taos. Check out her website : www.lifeprints.com. She has full moon walks at her labyrinth in Fort Collins. One of these days I'd love to go. Since I have relatives in Boulder, maybe I will!
I took the above photo of the full moon rising in Newport, Oregon while staying with my sister, Ruth, at the Sylvia Beach Hotel.
Every room in this hotel is named after a writer and decorated in the writer's style. Most of all it's a great place to get up early and to sit in the library that looks out over the water and write. For us easterners, to watch the sun set over the water is pretty great, too.
3 comments:
Wow, first a Blue Moon...and now this. About 3am, the moon wakes me up at this time of year. I'll have to be sure to watch earlier too. And the RED Planet too!
Thanks!
that was alex's 20th bday' beautiful photo, did you take it and if so where were you? just got back from stowe and can't wait to get back to writing together.
I'd know those pictures anywhere! I'll be right there in the library of The Sylvia Beach Hotel this weekend looking for a sunset around 5:30 pm and a moonset around 5:30 AM I'm praying for clear skies! Thanks for the information and great pictures!
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