Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/12/19
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Marc James Small wrote:
> At 02:46 AM 12/18/1999 +0000, Michael D. Turner wrote:
> >Last time was 133 years ago.
>
> There is no special significance to the occurence of the full moon on the
> solistice. Sure, it last happened 133 years ago -- and my
> great-great-grandfather was born 197 years back. Neither datum has any
> significance. The optical effect is repeated every four or six months.
>
> Marc
>
> msmall@roanoke.infi.net FAX: +540/343-7315
> Cha robh bas fir gun ghras fir!
Perhaps, Marc, you are not aware of the the following, from the originally
cited posting:
Since a full moon on the winter solstice occurs in conjunction
with a lunar perigee (point in the moon's orbit that is closest
to Earth), the moon will appear about 14% larger than it does at
apogee (the point in it's elliptical orbit that is farthest from
the Earth).
The Earth is also several million miles closer to the sun at
this time of the year than in the summer, so sunlight striking
the moon is about 7% stronger, making it appear much brighter.
If the weather is clear and there is a snow cover where you live,
it is believed that even car headlights will be superfluous.
I haven't had a chance to verify these assertions, however, from my own
observations, the moon does indeed appear to be far larger and brighter than
usual. Should create wonderful opportunities for both direct photographyof
the moon and moonlit landscapes, including, but certainly not exclusive to,
Yosemite.
- -Mike