Super Moon

The largest moon of 2010 occurred more than a year ago.

It was pretty spectacular.

It's going to be even better tonight for sure - if you have clear skies.

Because of the elliptical nature of the moon's orbit this year's big moon will be 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon as it is actually closer to  the earth than usual.

As a matter of fact this is the closest it has been in 18 years!  For this reason some observers call this a Super Moon.


The moon is at its perigee - the closest it will get to the earth - a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers).  Plus, the moon will officially be full.

Apogee is when the moon is at its farthest from the earth. Perigee and apogee generally occur in every month - but the moon's wobbly egg-shaped orbit means that the precise distance at each of these events varies throughout the year. The moon's phase can also be different during each perigee and apogee event.

For reasons not fully understood by astronomers or psychologists, a low-hanging moon looks incredibly large when hovering near trees, buildings and other foreground objects. The fact that the moon will be much closer than usual this weekend will only serve to amplify this strange effect.

Learn more about the moon here.