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It's A Bird, It's A Plane, It's Supermoon! Rare Lunar Event Tonight
Photo by Sundogg via LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
A rare, beautiful, super-sized, full moon will rise tonight as the celestial object arrives at its closest point to the Earth since 1993. Called a "perigee moon," la bella luna will be the biggest in nearly 20 years, however Los Angeles may be deprived a stellar viewing experience thanks to the rain and clouds in the forecast.
"Perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the moon's orbit," says NASA. A "moon illusion," not fully understood by astronomers, makes "low-hanging moons seem unnaturally large when they beam through trees, buildings and other foreground objects."
NASA has stressed that the supermoon will not cause natural disasters. U.S. Naval Observatory
Astronomical Applications Department sunset and moon rise times here.
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