Friday’s fabulous night sky
Let your kids stay up tonight to see one of the best night skies of their lifetime. Three moon phases coincide on Friday, December 12, making it seem bigger and brighter than it will for another 15 years. As an added, bonus, they’ll also witness the Geminid meteor shower, an annual show of “shooting stars” at an rate of nearly two a minute.
The moon orbits earth in an oval shape, meaning it is not always the same distance from the planet. It is currently at one of its nearest points to the Earth, about 17,000 miles closer than usual.
But not only is it closer, it is also a full moon on Friday. According to Marek Kukula, an astronomer at the UK’s Royal Observatory, this happens only once every few years. This coincidence alone will make the moon appear 14% bigger and 30% brighter, assuming it isn’t cloudy in your area. But a third factor will add to the spectacular lunar view tonight. Since we are near the winter solstice, the full moon will reach its highest point of the year, being nearly overhead at midnight. (The earth is not straight up-and-down; it is at an angle. In the winter, we tilt away from the sun, so the moon reaches higher.)
The moon, of course, isn’t actually bigger, but our brain sees it that way when it is closer, and when it is on the horizon. So whenever the moon rises in your area is when it will appear largest. Though it may seem brightest when it is higher overhead.
The moon’s close approach to earth will also pull a higher than normal tide. So folks on the coasts will have something else to watch. If combined with certain winds, however, flooding could be in store. Be careful!
Also beginning Friday night and continuing until Sunday is the annual Geminid meteor shower. Locate the constellation Gemini in the night sky, and then sit back and the enjoy the show! Nearly 100 meteors every hour will fly through the atmosphere, visible to the naked eye. But you’ll want to be looking away from the moon. Its bright light will make it difficult to see them.
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