[Anyone] Bigger, Brighter!

[Tom Bruce]

Got this off the net - tom

              A ONCE IN A LIFETIME MOON

 This year will be the first full moon to occur on the winter
 solstice, Dec. 22nd, commonly called the first day of winter.
 Since a full moon on the winter solstice occurs in conjunction
 with a lunar perigee (point in the moon's orbit that is closest
 to Earth), the moon will appear about 14% larger than it does
 at apogee (the point in it's elliptical orbit that is farthest
 from the Earth).

 And since the Earth is also several million miles closer to the sun
 at this time of the year than in the summer, sunlight striking the
 moon is about 7% stronger making it brighter.  Also, this will be
 the closest perigee of the Moon of the year since the moon's
 orbit is constantly deforming.

 If the weather is clear and there is a snow cover where you
 live, it is believed that even car headlights will be superfluous.
 On December 21st, 1866, the Lakota Sioux took advantage of
 this combination of occurrences and staged a devastating
 retaliatory ambush on soldiers in the Wyoming Territory.

 In laymen's terms it will be a super bright full moon, much more
 than the usual AND it hasn't happened this way for 133 years!

 Our ancestors 133 years ago saw this.  Our descendants 100
 or so years from now will see this again.

 Remember this will happen December 22, 1999..