You've probably heard by now that Saturday evening we'll have a perigean full moon.
Also known as "Super Moon."
(That cover was pretty different - kind of why I like it.)
When the moon is at its "perigee," it's at its closest point to the planet. The opposite, when the moon is at its furthest point, is called "apogee." This is the first time perigee has coincided with a full moon in about twenty years.
There was an almost "Super Moon" in 2008, according to an article in USA Today. The Super Moon of 2011 will be about 2% closer than that event. Or, this much.
Moonrise is scheduled for 7:37pm.
So what's the point? Well, the consensus seems... not much. Tides might be a bit high, but there's no need to fear swarms of natural disasters.
To seque "neatly" from natural disasters... there's information abound on the internets that talk about moon:menstruation links and lunar fertility cycles; however, a study that looked at lunar cycles and IVF suggested any connection was borderline and oversimplification at best.
A different study suggests a possible link between the moon cycle and attacks of "pseudogout." Tides, which are of course the result of the gravitational forces between the earth and moon, may also play a role in controlling global temperature when the tides are "extreme."
Yeah, you didn't see all that science coming, did you?
It should be a nice weekend, weather-wise, so enjoy some time outside with a warm beverage and take a look at the sky. That's my plan, anway.
Although I'll be keeping an eye out for were-wolves. (Silver bullets might be a good idea, too.)