Tomorrow night's "super "perigee moon" will appear in the eastern sky larger than any moon in almost 20 years.
Full moons appear to vary in size is due to the oval shaped orbit in which it travels where one side of the ellipse (perigee) is about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee).
The perigee moon on Saturday night will be a mere one hour from perigee, so it will appear about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than times when it occurs on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.
Perigean ocean tides are a mere few centimeters higher than usual. Topography can add to the effect by perhaps 15 centimeters, so the effects are not dramatic.
It often appears larger as it rises over the horizon and the perspective causes it to seem much larger next to close objects objects, so photographers might like to take advantage of this occasion. In my neck of the woods, the forecast may thwart the view, but I've been out this evening and it's 72 degrees and clear, and
it was pretty impressive sight coming over the horizon just over an hour or so ago.
Enjoy!
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