Close Encounter with the Moon

The moon rises over the District Saturday night. Kennedy Center in the foreground.

Forecast: A Wet Week | Weather Wall

If the full moon looked unusually big and bright this past weekend, there was an explanation. The moon passed by the earth at its closest distance, or perigee, Friday evening, at a distance of 221,595 miles from the earth. It appeared approximately 30% brighter than an average full moon. I had planned to photograph Friday's moon rise, but a large bank of clouds on the eastern horizon prompted me to plan a Saturday trip instead.

Keep reading to see a photograph of the moon over the Marine Corps War Memorial.

The moon rises next to the Marine Corps War Memorial Saturday evening.

The weather for the photo shoot was fairly cold. I was bundled up for the shoot, as were about a dozen other photographers who arrived at the Netherlands Carillon to photograph the moon rise. Most of us were surprised where the moon rose on the horizon and we had to quickly move our tripods and readjust our photographing angles. The moon rose well north of the Capitol when looking eastward toward the monuments. That location made a photograph of the moon rise with the Capitol almost impossible, but it provided a nice angle with the Iwo Jima Memorial.