William Atkins
Friday, 29 January 2010 10:31
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 2
On Friday, January 29, 2010, the full Moon will be especially bright and beautiful as it appears 14% wider than any other full Moon throughout the entire 2010 year.
Called a “perigee Moon,” Earth’s only natural satellite—the Moon—will put on a dramatic up-in-the sky show Friday night.
Catch the lunar excitement, and it’s free to all observers! Just look up into the night sky!
A perigee Moon simply means that the orbit of the Moon around the Earth is in the shape of an ellipse (kinda like a slightly smashed circle), with one end (its perigee) being shorter in distance than the other end (its apogee).
So, the perigee Moon is at its closest point from the Earth, and it will appear bigger and brighter to us observers here on Earth.
In fact, the full Moon, the first one in 2010, that occurs on Friday night will be about 14% wider and approximately 30% brighter than any other full Moon seen in 2010.
The actual Full Moon will occur at 0618 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) on January 30, 2010, or 1:18 a.m. Saturday morning, January 30, 2010.
At sunset look to the east in the night sky. The Moon should be at or just above the horizon. If it isn’t seen, wait a bit, and it will slowly rise from beneath the horizon.
Do you think that is enough incentive to go outside and see such a sight? Check out page two for an answer!
