Full moon rise tonight - well worth a look

Hi everyone! Step outside tonight to see the full moon rise in the East after sunset. Sunset is at about 8:00 p.m. and moon rise is at about 8:30 p.m. so depending on your horizons it may take you a little while to see the moon rise after 8:30 at your location. Often when you observe the full moon rising, it "looks" bigger than it really is. It's an optical illusion that is easy to test and interesting to see. "The full Moon of June 18th is a "solstice moon", coming only two days before the beginning of northern summer. This is significant because the sun and full Moon are like kids on a see-saw; when one is high, the other is low. This week's high solstice sun gives us a low, horizon-hugging Moon and a strong Moon Illusion. Sky watchers have known for thousands of years that low-hanging moons look unnaturally big. At first, astronomers thought the atmosphere must be magnifying the Moon near the horizon, but cameras showed that is not the case. Moons on film are the same size regardless of elevation: example. Apparently, only human beings see giant moons. A fun activity: Look at the Moon directly and then through a narrow opening of some kind. For example, 'pinch' the moon between your thumb and forefinger or view it through a cardboard tube, which hides the foreground terrain. Can you make the optical illusion vanish?" The above excerpted from the excellent Science@NASA's feature all about the moon illusion: http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/16jun_moonillusion.htm Here is another good article about the moon illusion. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25212851/ Both of these articles have some excellent graphics for you teachers (and students) out there. And there is a full moon every month for you to practice this activity with your friends and family. Since you're out looking at the moon, swing your head around to the West for a look at Mars and Saturn. You'll see they are appearing closer and closer to each other. On July 10 they'll fit in the same binocular view. Jane -- Jane Houston Jones Senior Outreach Specialist, Cassini Program JPL - 4800 Oak Grove Drive, MS 230-205 Pasadena, CA 91109 818-393-6435 jane.h.jones(a)jpl.nasa.gov Cassini SOC http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/index.cfm What's Up? http://education.jpl.nasa.gov/amateurastronomy/index.html