Posted on 01/29/2010 2:08:21 PM PST by La Enchiladita
The biggest full moon of 2010 will rise in the east tonight, and it'll appear with a bright sidekick: Mars will cozy up just to the left of the supersize moon.
January's full moon is also called the wolf moon, according to Native American tradition associating this month's full moon with wolves howling in the cold midwinter. (Take a moon myths and mysteries quiz.)
The 2010 wolf moon will appear 30 percent brighter and 14 percent larger than any other full moon this year, because our cosmic neighbor will actually be closer to Earth than usual.
The moon will be at its closest perigee—the nearest it gets to our planet during its egg-shaped orbit—for 2010 at 4:04 a.m. ET Saturday, reaching a distance of 221,577 miles (356,593 kilometers) from Earth.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
So funny you posted this, after dinner I was sitting in the living room and I could see the full moon through our drapes.. I commented on that to my husband..
I went and took one more look after reading this post...mars is its bright red self.. thanks for the info
On the other hand, balmy weather here in L.A. but hazy clouds to the east. Sun is setting fast, and I will hike to my viewing spot in a few.
The Red Planet... we may need to go live there.
It sure was a whopper as it rose! Mars is up there too, good to know, wondered which planet that was.
Hi La Dita... so this should be at it’s closest point to us at around 1:00 AM?
For those of you who eschew metrics, that would be about:
506692913385795 inches
No, but hope to relocate there eventually.
New Jersey.
Nice photos on this thread, though.
It sure did look bright and large the other night as it was waxing in the sky.
Total BS......I watched for that last evening, and then again pre-dawn this morning; NO "bigger and brighter" than 62 years of previous moon-watching these eyes have beheld.
Well, if you are viewing from Mars of course the Earth’s moon would look about the same :-)
Bummer... the clouds completely obscured (from West L.A.) the rising, which was the most dramatic part.... but later, as it lifted above @15-20 degrees, I could see clearly the moon with Mars directly to the left... was more interested in Mars at that point.
How was viewing in OC, Ceecee?
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