Science: Bigger and brighter: why the moon is super-sized

If you saw through the clouds over Melbourne and the moon looked more and more brilliant than normal last night, you are not imagining it.

According to astronomer Geoff Wyatt, as the moon set behind the western horizon on Sunday morning, it appeared 14 percent larger and 30 percent lighter than the smallest full moon of the year, which will be the 29th of November.

The reason for the over-sized moon with its apparent extra dash of lunar luminescence is simple: distance. Last night a full moon coincided with a moment in its orbit when it passed close to Earth.

Mr Wyatt, senior astronomer at Sydney Observatory, said the moon was now 356,955 miles from Earth - a relative hop, jump and jump.

The average distance between the moon and the earth is 384,403 km, while at its furthest point, it can be more than 400,000 km away.

This is because the path the moon takes to orbit the Earth is oval in shape, meaning the distance between the two constantly changing.

"This weekend's full moon occurs at its best and brightest when it is closest to the Earth," Mr Wyatt said.

The last time the moon was this close to Earth was March last year, when its orbit brought it inside 356.575 miles.

The closest the moon will come to the Earth between now and 2020 is the 14th of November, 2016, when it will be 356,509 miles away.

Mr Wyatt said there was reason to fear the increased proximity of the moon could trigger earthquakes.

"We are talking hundreds of kilometers here and there on about 300,000 miles, is negligible," he said.

Astronomical Society of Victoria spokesman Perry Vlahos agreed the proximity would have little effect on tides or earthquakes.

"I went back and really looked at the last 400 yers and taken out of the earthquakes with the largest magnitudes on the Richter scale, and no one took place when the moon was closest to the Earth," he said.

"There will not be any excessive effects on the Earth, in addition to being a wonderful sight."

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UnknownMay 23, 2012 at 3:58 AM
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Sunday, May 6, 2012

Bigger and brighter: why the moon is super-sized

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