Can You Afford To Wait Another 29 Years? I Can't.

You Snooze, You Lose!



Anybody with a rudimentary science background knows the difference between "perigee" and "apogee." Sometimes, I do confuse the two, but I always know that one is close and one is far away. Well, I have no longer to wait for clarification than tomorrow night: when the moon is in perigee with regard to its orbit around the earth (it DOES orbit around the earth, doesn't it?)
So, what does this fact mean to the average person? It means the average person had better get his or her (though we know it to be a Chinese "he") rear end off the darn barstool and get outside to watch the moon rise tomorrow night. This will be the biggest moonrise in 29 years...bigger even that the "harvest moon" which always seems gargantuan to me. And it's all due to perigee.
The full moon rising tomorrow night will be 14% bigger than average and 30% brighter than average...due to the fact that it is closer to the earth. In fact, the moon will be a mere 31,000 miles CLOSER to the earth than it is when at its apogee.
Don't let that frighten you: we are in as much danger of the moon crashing into the earth as we are of radiation getting here from Japan. Fact is, though closer, the moon will still be more than 211,000 miles away so we should be safe enough!
The next perigee moon will take place in 2029. I, for one, do not plan to be here to see it at that time, so I'm going out tomorrow night.
"I see the moon, and the moon sees me..."