Once a month, the full moon enhances the drama of sunset. Today, Saturday, the moon will appear to be 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than other full moons of 2012, according to NASA.
Whether or not you're a diehard moon watcher, you should know that there's no better place in Los Angeles to watch the most romanticized of celestial bodies rise into the sky than Fiji Hill on the campus. From there, you can not only see the full moon rising against the eastern hills but can get a 360-degree view unlike any other of the moon-washed city and its environs.
Called the “super moon,” Saturday's phenomenon is known to scientists as the “perigee moon.” The term comes from the elliptical path the moon follows around the Earth and reaches perigee, which is the point closest to the Earth’s center during the orbit. The moon will be about 31,000 miles closer to Earth's orbit than the furthest point of its elliptical orbit, according to NASA.
From causes not fully understood by scientists, low hanging moons look much larger when viewed through trees and other foreground objects.On Saturday, this optical illusion will be amplified with a moon that is closer to the Earth to begin with.
According to NASA, the moon’s rising orb will indeed seem of super proportions and you'll be able to see it nearby.
To catch a glimpse of the super moon, grab some silver, garlic and your favorite wooden crucifix and head for Fiji Hill, also known as Oxy Hill. To get there, drive up Campus Road and follow its loop around the northern edge of the campus, past Escarpa Drive. Turn right on Coons Road and go past the upper residence halls to your left until you reach the end of the road, where two lush soccer fields are located. Hang a left here and follow the meandering road all the way up to Fiji Hill.
