MONROE - The moon will appear larger than normal on Monday, but you probably won't notice it.
Monday's moon will be a so-called "super moon," which occurs when the moon is full while at its closest point to Earth.
Although super moons occur approximately every 14th full moon, the super moon on Monday will be the closest to Earth and, therefore, appear the largest it has been since 1948.
Despite all the recent hype on social media, you may not be too impressed.
"It will look exactly the same," said James Lattis, director of University of Wisconsin-Madison's Space Place. "It will be slightly larger, yes, but not enough for anyone to notice."
The moon's perigee (the closest point on its orbit to Earth) will bring it about 221,000 miles away from Earth on Monday. By comparison, the moon's average distance from Earth is about 238,000 miles.
"The moon is huge; it's thousands of miles in diameter and it's obviously very far away," Lattis said. "Even if it's thousands of miles closer, it won't look much different.
"Maybe it will look a little brighter," Lattis conceded.
While the moon will appear nearly 30 percent larger in comparison to its size at apogee (the farthest point on its orbit from Earth), without a way to directly compare both sizes side-by-side, it will be difficult to tell, Lattis said.
"The moon is very small in the sky," Lattis said. "You could cover five of them with your thumb."
Lattis said measuring the moon's perigee is important to measure because of the moon's impact on the Earth's tides, not because of how the appearance of the moon changes.
Furthermore, the moon will only officially be "full" at approximately 8 a.m. Monday morning, although it will appear to be full to the naked eye for hours before and after.
"I wouldn't drag your kids out of bed to look at it," Lattis said.
"On the hand, I love it when people look at the sky," he added. "So feel free to take a look at it before you go to bed or when you get up."
Monday's moon will be a so-called "super moon," which occurs when the moon is full while at its closest point to Earth.
Although super moons occur approximately every 14th full moon, the super moon on Monday will be the closest to Earth and, therefore, appear the largest it has been since 1948.
Despite all the recent hype on social media, you may not be too impressed.
"It will look exactly the same," said James Lattis, director of University of Wisconsin-Madison's Space Place. "It will be slightly larger, yes, but not enough for anyone to notice."
The moon's perigee (the closest point on its orbit to Earth) will bring it about 221,000 miles away from Earth on Monday. By comparison, the moon's average distance from Earth is about 238,000 miles.
"The moon is huge; it's thousands of miles in diameter and it's obviously very far away," Lattis said. "Even if it's thousands of miles closer, it won't look much different.
"Maybe it will look a little brighter," Lattis conceded.
While the moon will appear nearly 30 percent larger in comparison to its size at apogee (the farthest point on its orbit from Earth), without a way to directly compare both sizes side-by-side, it will be difficult to tell, Lattis said.
"The moon is very small in the sky," Lattis said. "You could cover five of them with your thumb."
Lattis said measuring the moon's perigee is important to measure because of the moon's impact on the Earth's tides, not because of how the appearance of the moon changes.
Furthermore, the moon will only officially be "full" at approximately 8 a.m. Monday morning, although it will appear to be full to the naked eye for hours before and after.
"I wouldn't drag your kids out of bed to look at it," Lattis said.
"On the hand, I love it when people look at the sky," he added. "So feel free to take a look at it before you go to bed or when you get up."