PERIGEE HARVEST MOON: Everyone has heard of the Harvest Moon. It's the full Moon closest to the northern autumnal equinox. Tonight's Harvest Moon is special, though. It's a "perigee" Harvest Moon, 5 percent bigger and 13 percent brighter than an average full Moon. Andreas Walker photographed it rising over Hallwil, Switzerland:
"The red #fullmoon looked huge as it rose in the dark blue sky," says Walker. "Telephone lines provided a perfect foreground."
What is a "perigee moon?" The Moon's orbit is an ellipse with one side ("perigee") about 50,000 km closer than the other ("apogee"). Full Moons that occur on the perigee side of the Moon's orbit are extra big and bright. That's what's happening tonight, with the Moon becoming full within 32 hours of perigee. It's "only" 359,910 km away
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