Apogee and Perigee, circa 2004

If the Jersey City weather gets better and the sky is clear tonight, we might be able to see a bigger and brighter moon. According to NASA, this happens because the moon will reach one tip (or extreme) of its orbit to Earth called “Perigee”. The said extreme is the closest to our planet.

“…Some full Moons are genuinely larger than others and this Friday’s is a whopper. Why? The Moon’s orbit is an ellipse with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other: diagram. In the language of astronomy, the two extremes are called “apogee” (far away) and “perigee” (nearby). On Dec. 12th, the Moon becomes full a scant 4 hours after reaching perigee, making it 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons we’ve seen earlier in 2008…”

So, when is the best time to look?

“The best time to look is when the Moon is near the horizon. That is when illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects…”

So folks, prepare your SLRs to capture the moment. (Cross your fingers for a beautiful weather)

Source: Perigee by NASA

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