![]() ![]() "The sky is already bright this time of year," Buckley said, noting that Saturn and Venus were very bright and the full moon "is right between them."īuckley contends that the coincidence of the solstice with the close approaches is rare, but said that the solstice would have no bearing on the brightness of the moon. ![]() But to have these three events - lunar perigee, solstice, and full moon - occur on nearly the same day is not especially rare." Ocean tides will be exceptionally high and low that day. That's only a few hours after the December solstice and a few hours before full moon. "The moon reaches its very closest point all year on the morning of Dec. She cites as an expert Fred Schaaf of Sky & Telescope, who wrote recently: 22 full moon "highly overrated." Mullette, who holds local classes and dispenses astrological advice online, takes a dim view of the proposition that the moon will be brightest since 1866, as claimed by many in Internet chat rooms. Today is expected to be partially cloudy, blustery and cold with snow flurries, so viewing the extra-shiny moon might be possible.One local resident not waxing rhapsodic over the big, bright moon is professional astrologer Julienne Mullette of Smithfield Township, who calls the focus on the Dec. He said it might be 15 percent brighter and "look very bright if we have snow." Snow, he explained, reflects moonlight.įolks who feel the pull of moonbeams are likely to be affected regardless of the weather. But, he is not convinced that the full moon will look that much brighter than normal to the human eye. 22, is the winter solstice, when the Earth is tilted to the maximum toward the southern hemisphere.Īstronomer David Buckley of Saylorsburg, a professor at East Stroudsburg University, acknowledged that the dual close approaches is a rare event. If thinking about these matters has not already driven you slightly wacky, add that today, Dec. That glow is brightest when the moon is nearest the Earth and when the Earth is nearest the sun. The moon's face glows when it reflects sunlight toward Earth. (Please remember, the moon revolves around Earth and Earth around the sun in elliptical, not circular, paths.) Tonight the moon will be at its perigee, or closest point to the Earth, while the Earth itself will be very close to the sun. If you believe in the notion that the moon influences the tides of human life, as well as the waters of the earth, you may find full-moon lunacy to be extra virulent tonight. ![]()
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