Tonight’s Hunter’s Moon is Full but it could be bigger. The smallest full moon of 2011 will be 12.3% smaller than the largest full moon of 2011, which occurred in March.
The difference in perceived size is due to the moon’s elliptical orbit. In March, the moon turned full just minutes away from the perigee of its orbit, or the point at which the moon is closest to Earth. Tonight’s full moon will reach its fullness peak at 10:06 p.m. Indiana time; just a few hours later, the moon will hit the apogee of its orbit, or point at which the moon is the farthest from Earth.
The perigee and apogee of the moon’s orbit change each month, but in March the moon was 221,565 miles from Earth when it appeared to be full; tonight, the moon will be 252,546 miles from Earth when it appears full. If you’re really a dedicated sky watcher you might notice a little difference.
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