General Chat

It's 8 p.m. here and just got dark, and my mum just called to tell me about it an hour ago, so I'm going to go check it out.

Is it too late there? Is anybody awake? ;) I think maybe tomorrow it might be almost the same.

I thought the bit at the end about the old days (and maybe why it seemed like there were more crimes and riots when the moon was full) was interesting.

I'll put the article in the next post.

Look, up in the sky: It’s a supermoon!
David Johnston, Postmedia News: Saturday, March 19, 2011

If it is true what they say about a full moon provoking deviant behaviour in human beings, then evidence of an outbreak of lunacy should be clearly discernible on Canadian streets Saturday night.

We should expect to see an upward spike in the number of 911 emergency calls.

Saturday night’s full moon, which was slated to rise at 7:38 p.m. ET is going to be special — and not just because it will be the last full moon of the winter, coming on the eve of Sunday’s first official day of spring. No, Saturday night’s moon is going to be a supermoon, also known as a perigee moon.

A supermoon is bigger and brighter than an ordinary full moon. The reason: the moon’s orbit around the Earth is elliptical, not round. And so when the elliptical path passes closest to Earth — as will be the case Saturday night —_a full moon becomes 14 per cent wider and 30 per cent brighter than an average full moon. Not since 1992 has the moon passed as close to Earth as it will tonight.

The proposition that full moons can spark deviant behaviour in human beings is known in scholarly research as the Transylvanian hypothesis.
We owe the noun lunacy, and the adjective lunatic, to this proposition, and more literally to Luna, the old Roman moon goddess.

The Transylvanian hypothesis is as old as humankind itself. However, serious study has concluded that the hypothesis is not supported by scientific evidence.

A famous study that had found murders on the rise in and around Miami, Florida during full moons was subsequently revealed to be flawed. A British Medical Journal study that found dog bites on the rise during full moons in Britain found fewer dog bites than average during full moons in Australia.

In New York City, two major studies involving 500,000 births over two different time periods found a minor one per cent rise in births during full-moon periods — hardly significant.

In the mother of all studies, researchers at the University of Saskatchewan looked at 37 different studies involving full moons and human behaviour and found insufficient evidence to support the notion of a lunar effect.

And yet many people still believe in one.

Why? Selective memory, say psychologists. Nurses who might correctly recall full-moon nights when their maternity wards were overwhelmed tend not to recall quite as sharply those other full-moon nights when the number of births was unremarkable or lower than average.

Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King’s College in London, England, has pointed out something significant about full moons: They were much more noticeable to the average person before the age of electricity than they are today.

Remarkably bright nights in the 1700s and 1800s would have brought a lot of people out into the streets and created exceptionally high incidences of social interaction between strangers.

rode o cobras.............

full moon myths......
same as black cats and walkin under ladders.......( unless foresaid ladder was in a stocking!!)

do you know that the apparent giant sized sun (at sunset) and the apparent oversize of a full moon are optical illusions?
the true size is always the same............

Bob

Well I probably just caused myself bad luck or something, as I could only see the moon through the windowpane! It's out front of the house and without making a lot of noise opening the door or rear gate it wasn't visible. I did creep out the back patio door to take a look but the sky was black, just a couple of twinkling stars then the patio light went on lol

The moon is very, very bright and very beautiful. A song came into my mind that I learned when I first went to school, and can remember singing:

I see the moon the moon sees me,
Under the shade of the old oak tree,
Please let the moon that shines on me,
Shine on the one I love

Over the oceans over the seas,
That's where my heart is longing to be,
Please let the moon that shines on me,
Shine on the one I love

Over the Mountains beyond the trees,
That's where my true loves waiting for me,
Please let the moon that shines on me,
Shine on the one I love

IT WAS AWSOME HERE AS IT ROSE ABOVE THE ROOFS
PLUS VAPOUR TRAILS FROM HIGH FLYING PLANES
SWIRLING INFRONT

still waiting for it to rise high enough to see here ...... it's about 8:25 pm, sunset was officially about an hour ago, but it does take time for the moon to rise high enough to be seen


It was very bright on Thursday night.


Bob ............... it is going to look much bigger tonight because it is closer to the earth. So I don't think that it is an optical illusion tonight.


CBC News

Scientists say the natural phenomenon - in which the moon reaches its closest point to this planet - will cause abnormally high and low tides worldwide.

The occurrences, technically known as "lunar perigees," were previously visible in 1955, 1974, 1992, 1993 and 2005. But what makes this one particularly special is that it coincides with a full moon, which hasn't happened since 1993, according to Geoff Chester of the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.

While some believe there's a connection between lunar perigees and global calamities such as tsunamis, extreme seismic activity and volcanic eruptions, others have dismissed such theories as hogwash.

The full moon should appear to be about 15 per cent larger and up to 30 per cent brighter than usual on Saturday evening, U.S. scientists said.

Stargazers are advised to check it out around sunset, when it's closest to the horizon.






sylvia

it became obvious here, in the city, at about 9:30 pm ...... when it had risen enough to appear over the houses.

I got a couple of decent photos at about 10:40 pm





sylvia

Surprise, surprise,

It was cloudy here in Scotland so we didn't get a look at it although I was still in the bedroom.............. decorating !!
Took me a few hours to rehang a door with new hinges on the other side but it doesn't help when it's warped.

I'll just have to wait for the next one...........I mean the next perigree moon, not warped door ;))

Back to work as it's time to paint the ceiling now.

It was too bright to look at, I just squinted, but could tell it was big

It was a beautiful sight here in Goloucester

We were told of this occurence on the news last night.


Very impressive and beautiful it was too.


Nearly sure I saw a face on it .... :))

awwww Liz, I haven't heard that for the longest time...but I am singing it now :)

hello frank, just wondered what part of scotland you are in. i am up as far north as you can go in the hebrides and last night the moon was just fantastic. so clear and bright and no clouds and looking so huge.

Talking of erratic behaviour Janey. when my brother was younger in his teens, he used to become unsettled 2 days before a full moon until 2 days after,often running away and creating havoc in the family.
my grandmother was the only person to say he was affected by the moon!

couldnt prove one way or the other but have to say it certainly disrupted family life.

on a different note, if you are born under the star sign of cancer, who is ruled by the moon, just wondered if anyone out there was affected this weekend in anyway?

sorry janey, not trying to hijak your thread . would i ?lol

florence

A few pictures here................

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12799686

Gwyn

I missed the best part of the show, my mum has told me. :(

It was right at moonrise, when it was huge and yellow. I'm going to try again tonight and see whether the effect lingers.

Janey -- what the researcher was doing was explaining why the idea might linger that more bad and crazy things happen under full moons. ;) The more people there are out on the streets at night, the more bad and crazy things are likely to happen!

Saw the moon last night driving back through the countryside (at about 7.15pm) from my in laws and it was amazing.

I have just looked out and its a bit cloudy so will wait and see if it clears a bit.

Teresa

Hi Florence,

I'm in Glasgow and I've just come down from the ladder for dinner.

Could the perigree moon have anything to do with the fact that I dropped a tin of paint on the floor although luckily it was small half litre tin of non drip gloss so just came out in a blob!!!!!
Considering I was up the ladder all afternoon with a 10 litre tub of matt emulsion and never dropped any, it is rather odd.

Perhaps I'm getting too old for this decorating malarkey.

Well my hair is all white.................... ooops, that'll be the roller and the white matt emulsion ;))

Yes dear, just going back to the painting !

lol frank! as they say up here in some parts.thats what you get for painting on the sabbath when you should be resting. tut tut !!!!

are you sure its the paint thats white in your hair.maybe you need a bit of the ole grecian 2000, if its still around. ha ha.

only joking, hope you can get the gloss paint off though. i think you will need some white spirits.take care on the ladder though, dont want any broken bones!

florence

Rose, hope the tune didn't bug you after a while lol