full and extra-bright moon dazzled the night skies Saturday as the lunar body swept along the low point of its elliptical orbit around the Earth. The so-called lunar perigree brings the moon about 50,000 kilometers (30,000 miles) closer to the Earth than when it's at the farthest point of its oval orbit. When a full moon coincides with this low point, as it did overnight from Saturday to Sunday, it appears especially bright and large, with observers often able to make out craters and other lunar features in clearer detail than normal. NASA says the perigree full moon appears about 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons in 2012. That's because it will be as close to Earth as it will get for a while -- just over 221,000 miles away. Super-full perigree moons occur about once a year on average. Residents of the mainland United States received similar conditions at 11:34 P.M., ET, the peak of this year's “super moon.” The best time to see the event is just as the moon crosses Earth's horizon. The moon always looks biggest then, although the reason why is a bit of a mystery. Viewing the moon behind buildings and trees creates an optical illusion so it appears even larger, making it a perfect time to try to grab some beautiful pictures. So why is this full moon so super? As the moon makes its elliptical orbit around Earth, there are specific times when it is closest to and farthest away from our planet. Apogee occurs when the moon is farthest away from us, and perigee occurs when it is closest.
