Tonight's Sky for April 16: Moon at Perigee

Tonight, the Moon is about as big as it will ever get thanks to the fact that the Moon is at perigee, a point in its orbit that is closest to Earth.

What many people may not realize is the fact that the Moon (and all other celestial bodies) do not orbit their parent bodies in circles, but ellipses, which are slightly elongated circles. Result: any given day of an orbital period, any orbiting body will be at a slightly different distance from its parent body. As for the Moon, this variance in orbit amounts to about 20,000 miles.

As for tonight, the Moon will be about as close to Earth as it is going to get. When it comes to practical implications, the difference will be hard to notice with the naked eye to all but an experienced observer but, in a telescope, the difference will be obvious.