Saturday, March 19, 2011

BIGGEST FULL MOON IN YEARS

 

fullmoon-sea

Got plans Saturday evening? Well, cancel them, because you're not going to want to miss this.

According to NASA, a full moon of "rare size and beauty" will rise at sunset on Saturday, March 19. Scientists are calling it a "super moon," and it's apparently the biggest in almost 20 years!

The moon will appear so large, bright, and beautiful because it's reaching the "perigree" side of its orbit -- when it's closest to earth. Perigree moons are already 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than moons on the "apogee" side of the moon’s orbit (when it is farthest away from earth). But what makes Saturday's moon so special is that it's almost perfectly coinciding with a full moon -- thus, the "super moon" terminology. This hasn't happened since 1993!

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