Friday night we just happened to be on our way for pizza when we noticed the moon looked huge, just over the horizon. We later found out it was because of this:
Each month the Moon orbits the Earth in an oval-shaped path, and on December 12 it will move past it around 28,000km closer than average.
The unusual feature is that this will coincide with a full moon, which will make it appear 14 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter than most full moons this year, on Friday night.
Astrologists say the next encounter with a moon this close and full will not be until November 14 2016.
Is that cool or what??
So when I got home I went outside until my toes were frozen trying to get a couple shots of the big ole moon. So here they are!
And here’s a cool website where I got the info above:
Biggest and brightest full moon for 15 years will illuminate the night sky
And my favorite:
All I did was crop and sharpen for the web. And they really are 5×5 photos but since my background is black as well as the night sky….well, ya know. Borders are so overrated!
Pretty cool stuff, huh? Did anyone else see the moon 14% larger than normal Friday night??
We saw it sparkling on the frost on our deck. Very pretty. Have you signed up for e-mail alerts at SpaceWeather? There's a lot of neat sky watching out there.
We just happened to be out on Friday night and especially noticed it driving home. Tony actually could turn our headlights off because the moon was SO bright!
Great pics!
I heard about it, but did not see it. But, we saw snowflakes over the weekend, so that was cool.
those are awesome!
Very cool…I love that last one, too! I heard about it after the fact, of course. I don't have a very long lens, so I doubt I would have gotten a nice one like you did.
Stacy
We saw it, too! I get a daily update from NASA (I'm special…just kidding. I signed up at their website). The children oohhh'd and aahhh'd for the longest time!
I love your pictures. If you don't mind my asking, what kind of camera do you use? I just have a Pentax Optio. I'd love to learn how to crop and all that neat stuff! Where DID that flagppole go??? We're looking into getting a new camera. Any suggestions?
Blessings,
Lisa
Lisa