Was the full moon of December 1999 the brightest in 130 years?

On Fri, 17 Dec 1999 you wrote:

> I heard that the moon was going to be the brightest it has been in 130years,
> on Dec. 23, 1999. Is this true? And if it is , Why?? Thanks for the
> help!! Bee
>

Hello,

It is true that the full moon will appear bigger this December than most,
as the moon reaches its closest point to Earth near the time of the full
moon. The moon will appear brighter because it is high in the sky for
those of us living north of the Tropic of Cancer - the highest the moon
can ever be in our sky is when it crosses the spot where the sun hits its
high mark in the summer. This year the full moon occurs near that spot.
But read the news article partway down on Sky and Telescope's news page:
http://www.skypub.com/news/news.shtml
It shows that there have been recent times when the moon was bigger and/or
brighter.

Thanks for writing!
Sincerely,
Kurtis Williams

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