This Friday’s full moon is going to be the biggest and last for 2008. But why will it be bigger? Because we will be 27,836 kilometers closer to it than the average Earth-Moon distance of 384,403 km. As a result, the moon will appear to be 14% bigger than any average full moon and it will also be 30% brighter – a perfect setting for a lovely moonlight dinner.

The moon will also be causing higher tides because its gravity’s pull on Earth’s oceans will be stronger. Watch for it rising in the East (opposite the Sun) on sunset this Friday. The moonrise will also be a good opportunity to check if the moon really is larger when its on the horizon and smaller when its up in the sky. What you can do is gauge the moon’s size using the tip of a pencil eraser held at arm’s length during moonrise then gauge it again when it’s high above the sky. Let me know what you discover afterwards.

One last fact. The moon is never really 100% full because for that to happen, the Moon, Earth and the Sun has to be in perfect alignment to each other and that only happens on a total Lunar eclipse.

big moon, december 2008 moon, full moon, moon