Tonight the moon will be at apogee and closest approach to the earth this year AND at the same time reach totality. It will rise at 5:30 this evening and appear 14$ bigger and up to 30% brighter than ever for the year. here's the full scoop...
"Thanks to a fluke of orbital mechanics that brings the moon closer to Earth than that it has been in more than 18 years, the biggest full moon of 2011 will occur on Saturday, leading some observers to dub it a "supermoon."
On Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, the moon will arrive at its closest point to the Earth in 2011: a distance of 221,565 miles (356,575 kilometers) away. And only 50 minutes earlier, the moon will officially be full. [Photos: Our Changing Moon]
At its peak, the supermoon of March may appear 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than lesser full moons (when the moon is at its farthest from Earth), weather permitting. Yet to the casual observer, it may be hard to tell the difference."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20110318/ ... urdaynight
get out them cameras, and remember that shooting the moon should be exposed as a daylight object no need for long exposures or any sort of special camera, though a tripod helps as it gets darker just for improved crispness even with IS.
I'll unfortunately be on the road coming back from late lunch in Gordensville during moon rise and when it will appear the largest but I'm taking my camera in the hopes I'll be somewhere around Wilderness so I can stop and get some good shots of it from one of the battle fields. we shall see....
RM