Why is the moon so big and bright?

Full moons, at the best of times, are the worst time to attract moths to light as its brightness reduces the effectiveness of the moth trap light.

Last Saturday night I over optimistically set a 60Watt actinic light hoping the cloud cover would mask the moon. Fat chance. The clouds broke and a Perigee Moon revealed itself!

This ‘supermoon’ appears when the moon is at a point of its cycle where it is nearest to the Earth and consequently appears both larger and brighter than normal. The result: my lowest May moth catch ever! Eight miserable moths of five miserable species!