Full moon tonight

[Jane Houston Jones]

Watch the full moon rise tonight, Saturday January 10.  Does it look 
bigger than usual?  Well, test the moon illusion by holding a paper tube 
at your eye and sight the moon through it.  You'll see it looks "less 
big".  this month's moon will look much like the December 2008 moon in 
size. 

Our brains trick us into "seeing" a huge full moon every month at 
moonrise.  It's called the moon illusion. 
http://facstaff.uww.edu/mccreadd/  or wikipedia:  
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion

Read about the "closest moon"  here at Science at Nasa 
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/08jan_bigmoon2009.htm

Or just go out and enjoy the rising moon tonight!  And we'll see 
everyone on the sidewalk when we aim at the  moon Jan 30 pasadena and 
Jan 31 Monrovia (weather permitting, that is)!

Jane and Mojo

-- 
Jane Houston Jones
Monrovia, CA
34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet
http://www.whiteoaks.com
Old Town Astronomers:  http://www.otastro.org
What's Up Podcast: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html
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