> Hi moondialists:
>
> I have been watching the waxing moon each night as it heads towards the
> total lunar eclipse on January 21 4:41:30 Universal Time. Its apparent
> diameter seems to be increasing, which means that it is approaching perigee,
> right? If last month's huge full moon was nearly at perigee, then doesn't
> that mean that this month's full moon will also be near perigee? Wouldn't
> this cause the eclipse to last longer than an eclipse at apogee? Does
> anyone know exactly when the moon is at perigee this month?
>
> Thanks, John
>
> p.s. Please don't forget to check the moon's declination on your sundials
> during the eclipse, and let us know your results!
According to the 2000 Astronomical Almanac, perigee occurs Jan 19 23 h
UT. According to Kepler an orbital body moves fastest near perigee
(equal area rule). The faster motion may outweigh the larger umbra--I
don't know, though I suspect this to be the case.
For more eclipse info, check out
http://www.skypub.com/sights/eclipses/lunar/0001preview.html
http://www.skypub.com/news/pr_eclipse000120.html
http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEextra/TLE2000Jan20.html
Jim 40N45, 111W53
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