Gunner 0313
12-12-08, 06:42 PM
From The Times
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December 12, 2008
Look up tonight for a spectacular treat in the sky
Biggest full moon for years enhanced by shooting stars
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<!-- Remove following <div> to not show photographer information --><!-- Remove following <div> to not show image description --><!-- Remove following to not show enlarge option --><!----><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--fCreateImageBrowser(nSelectedArticleImage,'landsca pe',"/tol/");//--></SCRIPT>
<!-- Print Author name associated with the article --><!-- Print Author name from By Line associated with the article -->Paul Simons
<!-- END: Module - M24 Article Headline with landscape image (d) --><!-- Article Copy module --><!-- BEGIN: Module - Main Article --><!-- Check the Article Type and display accordingly--><!-- Print Author image associated with the Author--><!-- Print the body of the article--><STYLE type=text/css>div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}</STYLE><!-- Pagination -->Top tips for where to watch (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5332018.ece) | Graphic: why it looks bigger (http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/moon.pdf)
If the full moon tonight looks unusually large, it is not your imagination – it is the biggest and brightest full moon to be seen for 15 years.
Each month the Moon makes a full orbit around the Earth in a slightly oval-shaped path, and tonight it will swing by the Earth at its closest distance, or perigee. It will pass by 356,613km (221,595 miles) away, which is about 28,000km closer than average.
The unusual feature of tonight is that the perigee also coincides with a full moon, which will make it appear 14 per cent bigger and some 30 per cent brighter than most full moons this year – so long as the clouds hold off from blocking the view.
<!--#include file="m63-article-related-attachements.html"--><!-- BEGIN: Module - M63 - Article Related Attachements --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--function pictureGalleryPopup(pubUrl,articleId) {var newWin = window.open(pubUrl+'template/2.0-0/element/pictureGalleryPopup.jsp?id='+articleId+'&&offset=0&§ionName=Weather','mywindow','menubar=0,resizab le=0,width=1000,height=711');}//--></SCRIPT><!-- BEGIN: Comment Teaser Module --><!-- END: Comment Teaser Module --><!-- BEGIN: Module - M63 - Article Related Package --><!-- END: Module - M63 - Article Related Package --> The next closest encounter with a full moon this large will not be until November 14, 2016.
In addition to this lunar flypast, much of Britain may also be treated to a strange phenomenon known as the moon illusion. As the Moon rises in the late afternoon, it will appear even larger as it lies close to the horizon. Psychologists have tried to explain this as a trick of the eye, as the landscape on the horizon appears to make the Moon loom much larger, an effect that disappears as the Moon rises above the horizon, although viewing it through a tube, such as a toilet roll, can make it look large again.
With the Moon approaching so close to the Earth, its gravity will pull a slightly higher tide than normal for a full moon. This so-called perigeal tide adds about 0.5m (1.6ft) to the high-water mark, and with freshening southwesterly winds forecast, this may cause some flooding, especially along parts of the South West coast.
Tonight’s full moon is also notable for rising to its greatest height in the night sky for the entire year, lying almost overhead at midnight. This is because we are approaching the winter solstice, on December 21, and thanks to the tilt of the Earth the Moon appears at its highest, as the Sun is at its lowest.
Another astronomical treat that could be seen tonight and for the next two nights is the annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the year’s best displays of shooting stars. Up to 100 meteors an hour can fly across the sky. The meteors, which are easy to spot with the naked eye, appear to shoot out from the constellation Gemini, hence their name, but they can be seen all over the sky. However, with a full moon so bright, the best place to look is away from the Moon.
Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through clouds of debris shed from comets. As the tiny fragments smash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at about 100,000mph, they burn up in streaks of light.
For reasons that are not understood, the Geminid meteor showers are tending to grow stronger each year.
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December 12, 2008
Look up tonight for a spectacular treat in the sky
Biggest full moon for years enhanced by shooting stars
<!-- END: Module - Main Heading --><DIV id=region-column1-layout2><!--CMA user Call Diffrenet Variation Of Image --><!-- BEGIN: M24 Article Headline with landscape image (d) --><SCRIPT src="/tol/js/m24-image-browser.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><SCRIPT src="/tol/js/tol.js" type=text/javascript></SCRIPT><!-- BEGIN: Module - M24 Article Headline with landscape image (d) --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--/* Global variables that are used for "image browsing". Used on article pages to rotate the images of a story. */var sImageBrowserImagePath = '';var aArticleImages = new Array();var aImageDescriptions = new Array();var aImageEnlargeLink = new Array();var aImageEnlargePopupWidth = '500';var aImageEnlargePopupHeight = '500';var aImagePhotographer = new Array();var nSelectedArticleImage = 0;var aImageAltText= new Array();var i=0;//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--aArticleImages[i] = '/multimedia/archive/00255/Apollo13_255839a.jpg';//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--aImageDescriptions[i] = '';//--></SCRIPT><!--Don't Display undifined test for credit --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--aImageAltText[i] = "The moon as seen by the crew of Apollo 13" ;aImageAltText[i] = aImageAltText[i].replace(/"/g,"\"");//--></SCRIPT><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--aImageEnlargeLink[i] = '/multimedia/archive/00255/Apollo13_255839a.jpg';i=i+1;//--></SCRIPT>http://www.timesonline.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00255/Apollo13_255839a.jpg
<!-- Remove following <div> to not show photographer information --><!-- Remove following <div> to not show image description --><!-- Remove following to not show enlarge option --><!----><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--fCreateImageBrowser(nSelectedArticleImage,'landsca pe',"/tol/");//--></SCRIPT>
<!-- Print Author name associated with the article --><!-- Print Author name from By Line associated with the article -->Paul Simons
<!-- END: Module - M24 Article Headline with landscape image (d) --><!-- Article Copy module --><!-- BEGIN: Module - Main Article --><!-- Check the Article Type and display accordingly--><!-- Print Author image associated with the Author--><!-- Print the body of the article--><STYLE type=text/css>div#related-article-links p a, div#related-article-links p a:visited {color:#06c;}</STYLE><!-- Pagination -->Top tips for where to watch (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article5332018.ece) | Graphic: why it looks bigger (http://extras.timesonline.co.uk/pdfs/moon.pdf)
If the full moon tonight looks unusually large, it is not your imagination – it is the biggest and brightest full moon to be seen for 15 years.
Each month the Moon makes a full orbit around the Earth in a slightly oval-shaped path, and tonight it will swing by the Earth at its closest distance, or perigee. It will pass by 356,613km (221,595 miles) away, which is about 28,000km closer than average.
The unusual feature of tonight is that the perigee also coincides with a full moon, which will make it appear 14 per cent bigger and some 30 per cent brighter than most full moons this year – so long as the clouds hold off from blocking the view.
<!--#include file="m63-article-related-attachements.html"--><!-- BEGIN: Module - M63 - Article Related Attachements --><SCRIPT type=text/javascript><!--function pictureGalleryPopup(pubUrl,articleId) {var newWin = window.open(pubUrl+'template/2.0-0/element/pictureGalleryPopup.jsp?id='+articleId+'&&offset=0&§ionName=Weather','mywindow','menubar=0,resizab le=0,width=1000,height=711');}//--></SCRIPT><!-- BEGIN: Comment Teaser Module --><!-- END: Comment Teaser Module --><!-- BEGIN: Module - M63 - Article Related Package --><!-- END: Module - M63 - Article Related Package --> The next closest encounter with a full moon this large will not be until November 14, 2016.
In addition to this lunar flypast, much of Britain may also be treated to a strange phenomenon known as the moon illusion. As the Moon rises in the late afternoon, it will appear even larger as it lies close to the horizon. Psychologists have tried to explain this as a trick of the eye, as the landscape on the horizon appears to make the Moon loom much larger, an effect that disappears as the Moon rises above the horizon, although viewing it through a tube, such as a toilet roll, can make it look large again.
With the Moon approaching so close to the Earth, its gravity will pull a slightly higher tide than normal for a full moon. This so-called perigeal tide adds about 0.5m (1.6ft) to the high-water mark, and with freshening southwesterly winds forecast, this may cause some flooding, especially along parts of the South West coast.
Tonight’s full moon is also notable for rising to its greatest height in the night sky for the entire year, lying almost overhead at midnight. This is because we are approaching the winter solstice, on December 21, and thanks to the tilt of the Earth the Moon appears at its highest, as the Sun is at its lowest.
Another astronomical treat that could be seen tonight and for the next two nights is the annual Geminid meteor shower, one of the year’s best displays of shooting stars. Up to 100 meteors an hour can fly across the sky. The meteors, which are easy to spot with the naked eye, appear to shoot out from the constellation Gemini, hence their name, but they can be seen all over the sky. However, with a full moon so bright, the best place to look is away from the Moon.
Meteor showers happen when the Earth passes through clouds of debris shed from comets. As the tiny fragments smash into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at about 100,000mph, they burn up in streaks of light.
For reasons that are not understood, the Geminid meteor showers are tending to grow stronger each year.