The night of Sunday the 11th January 2009 will be the brightest Moon of the year. This full Moon will be only slightly dimmer than the one on 19th December 2008. This will be the last chance to see such a glorious sight for seven years.

The Moon does not follow a circular path around the Earth. It follows a slightly squashed circle, known as an ellipse. At its closest point to the Earth, called the perigee, the Moon is 50,000 kilometres (31,000 miles) nearer to the Earth than when it is at its furthest point, the apogee.

The Moon will be closest to the Earth on the night of Saturday, 10th January, but it will not be a full Moon on that night. The full Moon is on Sunday night. Tonight’s Moon will be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than typical full Moon.

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