Get your cameras, telescopes, eyes and coffee ready…. You're going to be doing some moon gazing this weekend! This month's full moon occurs tomorrow night, and this one is extra special. The moon is going to appear 14% larger and 30% brighter than it has in almost 20 years!
Why is this happening? Well, as you probably know, the moon orbits around the Earth in an almost circular shape called an ellipse (fancy word for oval). The moon makes one complete orbit around earth every 27 days, and since the orbit is an ellipse, it reaches a closest point to earth once every 27 days. The moon goes through a phase cycle as well, and we see a full moon once every 29 days.Every 18 years or so, the timing is just right so that the moon is full and it's at its closest point to Earth. Tomorrow is that day! So don't miss the spectacular super-moon tomorrow, because you won't get a chance to see this for another 18 years!
Thanks to Angelica Rodriguez for this post idea!
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Image credit: Michael Richmond, Valerie Rapson, Marcus Freeman; WIYN 0.9m telescope at Kitt Peak, Az
