STARGAZERS are in for a treat on Saturday as a full moon will seem brighter and bigger the usual.
But why does the natural satellite so much larger this evening than it normally does? Here’s everything you need to know.
When will we see the Full Moon tonight?
The true Full Moon is actually on Sunday morning at 8.17am.
But your best viewing time will probably be the evening of Saturday.
It will be large from Thursday all throughout the weekend.
This particular Full Moon is called the Snow Moon.
Why is the moon so big?
The moon will be appear big tonight because of how illuminated it is.
It’s opposite the Sun, so we can see its entirety.
Why will the moon appear to be so low?
When you see a moon low in the sky it is because you are seeing it through a greater thickness of Earth’s atmosphere.
This is known as the “moon illusion”, according to EarthSky.org.
When the moon is near the horizon you are looking at in comparison to familiar reference points such as trees, buildings, mountains, etc.
Your brain automatically compares the size of the moon to those reference points, which makes it appear bigger.
When the moon appears higher in the sky then there is nothing to compare it to and therefore also appears smaller.
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What is a full moon?
This spectacle occurs when the earth comes directly between the sun and the moon.
Because they occur every 29 and a half days, there are sometimes 13 a year – as there are in 2020.
Each month’s full moon has a special name.
This is because Native American tribes kept track of the months of the year by the lunar calendar.
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
