Does the moon look smaller tonight? Here is the reason why a “micromon” increases

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If you are an enthusiastic moon observer, you may find that our moon only appears one tiny A little smaller in the night sky tonight.

On Monday (February 17th) the moon reaches the so -called Apogee – its most distant point from the earth. The orbit of the moon is elliptical or oval, which means that the distance from the earth changes around our planet during the 27.3-day cycle. Sometimes it is closer to us, which is why we experience “super mions” or full monds that appear a little larger in the night sky.

But at other times, like tonight, the moon is further away and makes it appear smaller. The removal of the moon only changes by about 14%if it moves closer and further from Earth during the orbit. For most Skywatchers, the size of the size will not visibly recognize.

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The exact moment of the apoth takes place this evening at 8.10 p.m. ET (0110 GMT on February 18), but the moon will be below the horizon at that time. For observers in the northern hemisphere, the moon rises only shortly before midnight over the eastern horizon, at the further end of its orbit from the earth. The moon will be in the Jungfrau constellation.

Today’s moon is 19 days old (past new moon) in the dwindling Gibbous phase and is approaching its next phase, the moon of the half-lit third quarter, which takes place on February 20. Although the moon is half -lit, we call this the “third quarter phase” because it comes when the moon is three quarters of the path through its orbit around the earth.

After the third quarter, the next phase in the moon cycle will be the new moon on February 27th. A day later, the moon will only be a one -day splinter that appears between Saturn and mercury in the night sky.

Would you like to see crater and other characteristics on the moon? Our leaders to the best telescopes and best binoculars are helpful tools for everyone who wants to take a closer look at natural satellites on earth.

And if you want to take photos of the night sky or the moon, take a look at our guides about how to photograph the moon, how to shoot the night sky, and our leaders to the best cameras for astrophotography and best lenses for astrophotography.

Note from the publisher: If you receive a good photo of the moon and want to share it with the readers of space.com, send your photos, comments and your names and your place spacephotos@space.com.