[Grovenet] FYI ! ! ! !

[Ron D'Eau Claire]

Thanks Bob. The Harvest Moon is always a bit early  for us town dwellers. We
have to go "harvest" our leaves a few weeks later. 
 
The report said, "The Moon is not bigger when on the horizon."
 
That's another linguistic exercise such as defining what "was" means. While
the moon doesn't change size, the moon APPEARS bigger near the horizon, just
as the sun does. Any amateur astronomer with rudimentary apparatus to
measure the size of the disk can confirm that.
 
The astronomical bodies are not really larger, but only appear so because
the earth's atmosphere refracts the light like a lens. The lens effect is
minimal when the object is overhead, and increases as the object is viewed
closer and closer to the horizon. 
 
That's the same lens effect that causes the sun to break up into a series of
disconnected glowing parts - usually bands running horizontally - as it
'sets'. Actually at the point it's already below the physical horizon. What
we see is its image refracted by the atmosphere making it appear to be still
above the horizon. 
 
Another lesson in "never believe what you see until you know how it's being
shown" <G>
 
Ron D'Eau Claire 
 
 

-----Original Message-----
From: grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com [mailto:grovenet-bounces at rdrop.com] On
Behalf Of Bob Browning
Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 12:38 PM
To: Grovenet
Subject: [Grovenet] FYI ! ! ! !



Tonight's Full Moon 12 Percent Bigger 


Robert
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/byline/tonightsfullmoon12pe
rcentbigger/20523034/SIG=11idb8psj/*http://www.livescience.com/blogs/author/
robbritt> Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer
SPACE.com
<http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/space/sc_space/byline/tonightsfullmoon12pe
rcentbigger/20523034/SIG=10m6rt8b7/*http://www.space.com> Fri Oct 6, 9:15 AM
ET 

Tonight's full Moon will be almost 12 percent bigger than some of the full
Moons this year, according to NASA, setting up a fine viewing opportunity
when it rises in the evening.

The reason: The Moon is near perigee, the point on its slightly out-of-round
orbit that is closest to Earth. 

This Moon is called the Harvest Moon, owing to its timing of being nearest
the autumnal equinox. Farmers in the past relied on it to harvest all night.
The Harvest Moon is not always closer and bigger than normal. 

The Moon will rise around 6 p.m. local time (compute exact time for your
location). It will be officially "full" at 11:13 p.m. ET, though the Moon is
never really full. 

Some other strange Moon facts:

The Moon is not bigger when on the horizon. The Moon is moving away as you
read this. Far away. There is no proof the Moon makes people crazy. 

Late Monday night and into Tuesday morning, Oct. 10, the Moon will pass in
front of the Pleiades star cluster, creating an interesting skywatching
opportunity for skywatchers with telescopes. 

More to Explore 

Moon Image Gallery Skywatcher's Guide to the Moon How Lunar Phases Work
Original Story: Tonight's Full Moon 12 Percent Bigger 

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bob "look up through the rain" browning