Watch the full moon rise tonight, Saturday January 10. Does it look bigger than usual? Well, test the moon illusion by holding a paper tube at your eye and sight the moon through it. You'll see it looks "less big". this month's moon will look much like the December 2008 moon in size. Our brains trick us into "seeing" a huge full moon every month at moonrise. It's called the moon illusion. http://facstaff.uww.edu/mccreadd/ or wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_illusion Read about the "closest moon" here at Science@Nasa http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/08jan_bigmoon2009.htm Or just go out and enjoy the rising moon tonight! And we'll see everyone on the sidewalk when we aim at the moon Jan 30 pasadena and Jan 31 Monrovia (weather permitting, that is)! Jane and Mojo -- Jane Houston Jones Monrovia, CA 34.2048N 118.1732W, 637.0 feet http://www.whiteoaks.com Old Town Astronomers: http://www.otastro.org What's Up Podcast: http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/podcasting/whatsup_index.html Twitter: http://twitter.com/jhjones Facebook: http://www.facebook.com MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/janehoustonjones