Random Clicker: 2008

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Friday, December 12, 2008

Full Moon 12/12/08

Here is some treat for the sky watchers, as today, the12th December, the world will witness the brightest full moon ever. The moon to appear today is about 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than the other full moons seen in the year 2008.

This phenomenon is because the moon is much closer to the earth than usual, on its egg-shaped circle around the earth. When it get closer to the earth it is perigee and when farthest from earth it is apogee. The two points occur once every year , but the moon's exact distance varies over the years.

"Typically, we don't have the full moon phase and perigee coinciding at the same time, so that makes this event particularly special," said Ed Krupp, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California. Today's event will be the closest lunar perigee since 1993, at 221,560 miles (356,566 kilometers) from Earth. This unusually close perigee is expected to have a direct effect on the tides on earth.

"While high tides happen each month when the sun, Earth, and the moon are aligned, there is going to be an enhanced effect, with the moon being the closest it's been in more than a decade," said Ben Burress, staff astronomer at the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California.

"This would result in extra-large tides in regions that are susceptible to them, like Nova Scotia's Bay of Fundy," he added. The moon will appear larger today due to its closeness to the earth and will be most noticeable as it rises above the horizon at sunset. That's when an optical illusion usually comes into play that makes the full moon seem larger, set against familiar Earthly objects, than when it's higher in the empty sky.

"This combination of the moon illusion and close perigee gives sky-watchers a chance to see the biggest and fullest moon rise possible," Burress said. This vent can be viewed across the globe with out any instruments.

"If you are charmed by the idea of seeing the biggest and brightest full moon visible in 15 years, be ready to go outside at sunset and watch for the rising moon in the east," said Krupp.