Did you see it?

Happy Saturday my Raviolis.  Did you see it?  Did you look up at the sky last evening and see the "Wolf Moon"?  Last night's full moon was the biggest and brightest full moon of this year and you can see more features of moon at anytime this year without a telescope.  The American Indians call the first full moon of the year the "Wolf Moon". 

The Indians called the first full moon in January of any year the wolf moon because hungry wolves howled at the full moon on cold winter nights. Sometimes Kota will howl at the moon, but he usually does it is during the summer when he is out on the deck and watching the world go by.

But why was the moon bigger and brighter last night than other nights? Here's how the moon works.  Last  night, the moon was at perigee, its closest distance to the Earth during its orbit around our world. Because it is so close to the Earth, the moon appears larger.  The moon's orbit around Earth is not a perfect circle but rather an ellipse.   

An ellipse is more like an egg shape or a slightly squashed circle.  One side of the moon's orbit is closer than the other. When the moon reaches this closest point to us, it is called perigee. Once or twice a year, perigee coincides with a full moon, as it did last night and it made the moon appear bigger and brighter than any other full moons that will happen this year.

I like looking at the moon when it is bright and full, don't you?  I know some Denver raviolis who may have been lucky enough to view the Wolf Moon through a very big telescope.  Let grandma-ma know if you viewed the moon last night with a comment.  Love to all of you my raviolis.  Grandma-ma