Tonight's Full Moon
Friday, December 12, 2008 at 8:04AM 
Tonight’s full moon will appear larger and brighter than any full moon since 1993. That’s because this full moon comes at the point in the moon’s orbit when it is nearest to the earth. When the full moon and this close orbital point coincide, our moon comes nearer than ever, and the nearer it is, the bigger and brighter it looks.1
Tonight’s moon will be less than 357,000 kilometers from the earth. We’ll have to wait until 2016 for it to come this close again.
As an added bonus for those of us in the northern hemisphere, this full moon will be higher in the sky than any other this year. We can look for it nearly overhead at midnight.
Why not plan an evening walk to enjoy this unusual occurance? You won’t need a flashlight because there will be 30% more light than this year’s other full moons.
1See the notable difference in the size and brightness of the full moon between it’s perigee (when it’s closest to us) and it’s apogee (when it’s farthest from us).
Reader Comments (1)
I was just outside looking at the moon. It didn't seem any larger but definitely is brighter. There was a cloud passing under it, so maybe that's the reason it didn't seem larger.
Time is 8:20PM.
Karen, Monrovia, CA