Image of 2008 Perigee Moon by philliefan99This post might be pointless if the sky doesn’t clear up, but Weather.com does show a break in the clouds this afternoon that may last until early evening. If so, look up tonight just after 5 p.m. to see the Perigee Moon — the biggest, brightest full Moon you’ll see all year.
Like most orbits, the Moon travels in an elliptical, not a circular path around the Earth; tonight the Moon reaches “perigee,” its closest approach to us. As SpaceWeather.com notes, a Perigee Moon can appear “some 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons of the year.” They also advise that,
A good time to look is around sunset when the Moon is near the eastern horizon. At that time, illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through foreground objects such as buildings and trees. Why not let the “Moon illusion” amplify a full Moon that’s extra-big to begin with?
Be sure to also take notice of the “orange star” traversing along side the Moon tonight — it’s not a star, but Mars. Amazingly enough, the red planet is also approaching very close to Earth in its orbit, and tonight during the Perigee Moon, Mars reaches opposition (directly opposite the Sun). Enjoy the view tonight, and if you break out the camera for a little astrophotography, be sure to stick your best image in the DCist Flickr pool.
