If you missed out on last month's Super Wolf Blood Moon total lunar eclipse, which was as epic as it sounds, you're in luck. Tonight, Chicago will be treated to another lunar oddity: the Super Snow Moon.
The term "super moon" isn't exactly scientific; it's simply a way of signifying a full moon that is closer to Earth than usual. Close, of course, is a relative term as the moon will still be 221,693 miles away. Nonetheless, super moons can appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter.
Michelle Nichols, Adler Planetarium's Director of Public Viewing, says that to experience the full effect of the super moon, you should go outside slightly before 6pm and look to the northeast.
"When you see the moon close to the horizon, what your brain is trying to do is reconcile the fact that it knows that moon is far away and that anything on the horizon is closer," Nichols says. As a result, your brain will pull the moon closer to you, making it appear bigger than it actually is.
There are a couple of easy ways to test this illusion. One way is to take a picture on the moon with your phone—it might seem gigantic against the horizon to your eyes, but in the picture it'll be much smaller. Alternatively, you can stick your thumb out at arm's length and compare the moon and your thumb side by side. They should be roughly the same size (mind blown, right?).
While tonight's super moon will be the biggest and brightest of 2019, you'll have another chance to see a larger-than-usual moon in the sky on March 21.
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