On March 19th, 2011, a full Moon of rare size and beauty arose to impress all viewers with its yellow color and its clarity. This full moon was the biggest in almost 20 years. The last full Moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993. Full Moons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon's orbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other (apogee): diagram. Nearby perigee moons are about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser moons that occur on the apogee side of the Moon's orbit.
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