At 5:30 p.m. EST (2230 GMT), the moon will reach its closest point to the Earth for the year, known as perigee, at a distance of 221,726 miles (356,833 kilometers). Nine hours and 11 minutes prior to that, the moon will officially turn full. It will, in fact, be the biggest Though a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment, that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation, and for a day or so before and after most will speak of seeing the nearly full moon as "full": the shaded strip is so narrow, and changing in apparent width so slowly, that it is hard for the naked eye to tell whether that dark strip is present or on which side it is.
So, when the moon shines down on your neighborhood on Wednesday night, keep this in mind: what you're looking at is not precisely a "full" moon, but a waning gibbous moon, already many hours past its stage of full illumination.
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