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astronomer.
December 22, 1999 Perigee Moon, Apogee Moon Picture Credit: Galileo Project,
NASA
Explanation: Tonight, those blessed with clear skies can enjoy a glorious
full moon, the last full moon of the "Y1.9K"s. In fact, tonight's
moon will be a full-perigee-solstice moon, reaching its full phase and perigee
(the closest point in its
orbit) on the solstice, the first
day of northern
hemisphere winter. Anticipation of this celestial event has generated a
flood of e-mail chasing the rumor that the full-perigee-solstice moon will
be intensely bright. However,
calculations show it will only be a little brighter than usual, and
certainly not dramatically so. Why would it be brighter? Mostly because the moon
appears bigger and brighter at perigee. The above illustration, based on Galileo
spacecraft images, shows the approximate difference in apparent size between
a full moon at perigee
(left) and a full moon at apogee, the farthest point in the lunar orbit. The
Earth and moon are also a few percent closer to the sun during northern winter,
but the combined effects will cause tonight's full moon to appear only about 20%
brighter than an average full moon. That difference is not even likely to be
noticeable to the
human eye.
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