Norway’s inhabitants are in for a treat this weekend, when the tomorrow’s full moon will be 50,000 kilometres nearer the Earth than usual. But watch out for moose in the road from tonight.

Phenomenon

“Moon’s orbit round around the Earth is elliptical, and Earth isn’t in the middle of the Moon’s trajectory either. As a result, it will be nearer the Moon tomorrow; something that usually only happens once a year,” Pål Brekke, senior advisor at the Norwegian Space Centre tells The Foreigner.

He goes on to say that tomorrow’s moon – which Astronomers call a “perigree Moon”, as one side of the Moon is closer to the Earth than the other at the point of closest approach – will be 14 percent larger than normal, and will shine 30 percent more intensely than when it’s furthest away from Earth in the summer.

But if you think the Moon looks bigger, it’s an optical illusion. According to spaceweather.com, low-hanging Moons that beam through foreground objects such as building or trees look unnaturally large. Psychologists don’t fully understand the reasons for this, they write.

Eyes on the road

Full moons aren’t good news for either motorists or moose, though. 350 moose were hit last winter in the Nordland region alone.

“Statistics show that January is high-risk season for driving in to a moose, especially when there’s a full moon,” insurance company TryggVesta’s Bengt Mathiesen informs NRK.

And as a fully-grown moose is about as high as the average car accidents are often fatal for the animal, with a serious risk of injury to both driver and passengers.

Mathiesen advises motorists, therefore, to keep their speed down, pay attention to road signs warning of crossing moose, and plan for longer braking-distances when it’s icy.