Changes in Lunar Size

While doing some organization in my astrophotos I came across a picture composition that I created back in September 2015 following the Super Moon Lunar Eclipse, but which I never posted.

I had selected two Lunar Eclipse photos that I had taken with the exact same equipment, but on different year and wanted to see the difference in size with this “Super Moon”.  Was it really that much bigger…

Lunar Size Comparison Between February 2008 and September 2015 Lunar Eclipse

Lunar Size Comparison Between February 2008 and September 2015 Lunar Eclipse
– Benoit Guertin

The Moon’s orbit is elliptical and eccentric which causes the Moon’s distance to vary by 50,200km from perigee (closest) to apogee (furthest).  The end result is a 12% change in apparent diameter as viewed from Earth.  The above image only shows a 7% difference as while the background Moon was taken at perigee (famed Super Moon) the foreground was an arbitrary reference of the February 2008 lunar eclipse.

Telescope: Skywatcher 80ED (600mm)

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