Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Saturday

Earth's moon will seem bigger Saturday night than it has since 1993. It'll still be the same size as usual, however.

James Joyner · Friday, March 18, 2011 · 1 comment

Earth’s moon will seem bigger Saturday night than it has since 1993. It’ll still be the same size as usual, however.

Space.com (‘Supermoon’ Rises: Biggest Full Moon in 18 Years Occurs Saturday Night):

Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than that it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a “supermoon.”

On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers) away. And only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will officially be full.

At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference.

The supermoon will not cause natural disasters, such as the Japan earthquake, a NASA scientist has stressed.

Spotting the supermoon

The moon has not been in a position to appear this large since March 1993.

In December 2008, there was a near-supermoon when the moon turned full four hours away from its perigee – the point in its orbit that is closest to Earth. But this month, the full moon and perigee are just under one hour apart, promising spectacular views, depending on local conditions.

So, the last time the moon was this big, Bill Clinton was in the White House? And now we have Barack Obama? Clearly, the moon likes Democratic presidents. Or else it’s a complete coincidence.