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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.

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Mark November 17, 2009 on your calendars because astronomers predict that the annual Leonids might put up a light show so dramatic it wasn’t seen since 1999 and 2001.  In recent years, the Leonids have put up a rather “boring” show but astronomers believe that 2009 will be different with around 500 meteors streaking across the sky every hour.

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The Hubble Space Telescope has been taking pictures of the Universe since 1990.  It has gone through many problems but scientists and technicians managed to keep it up in space taking photos so clear it re-defined our idea of what space is.  Throughout these years, Hubble has taken thousands of photos and has discovered new galaxies so far we didn’t knew it existed before.

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Ever wonder why older men move slower than the younger? Ask this question to a bunch of people and the most common answer is because old men have arthritis while younger men do not. While there is some truth to that, it’s not really the entire story.

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Did you know that the lowly sponge is that looks like an underwater plant is actually an animal? Yes, odd as it is, the sponge is a primitive animal which lacks many of the things that we expect from well, animals. Primitive as they are though, scientists recently discovered that the nerves found in modern animals can be traced back to sponges.

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Seeing a star explode in the sky is something that not all humans will see in their lifetime. Sometimes, a star explodes so bright that it can be seen even during the day but sometimes it explodes just bright enough to be seen with the naked eye. One such Nova explosion occurred last July 5 2007 but sadly no-one noticed it. The star, now called V598 Puppis which can be found in the constellation Puppis is a white-dwarf star that gathered enough gas to cause an explosion.

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I’ve just read this over at Livescience.com and I found it to be quite interesting. The Garra Rufa fish also known as Doctor Fish or Nibble Fish is fast becoming a staple in foot spas worldwide especially in Turkey and in some Asian countries. I’ve yet to see one here in the Philippines though. I’m sure there’s a spa here that offers the service.

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Have you ever thought of the possibility that eating can actually help you reduce your weight? Studies have shown that eating a big breakfast actually helps in weight loss and here’s how it works.

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Dogs are said to be man’s best friend and as if that’s not enough, dogs are given one more task to strengthen the friendship between man and canine. Previous scientific studies showed that dogs can sniff early stage cancer. Back in 2004, the British Medical Journal found out that dogs can smell bladder cancer from human urine.

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Just when students from all over the globe are told that Pluto is no longer a planet, astronomers once more argue that it is a planet. What the?!?!?! Can’t they ever settle down for an actual definition. As an ordinary person, I don’t really care whether Pluto is a planet, a trans-Neptunian object, or a plutoid.

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