At this new moon, plant a seed

On the day of new moon, the moon rises when the sun rises. It sets when the sun sets. It crosses the sky with the sun during the day.

Once each month, the moon comes all the way around in its orbit so that it is more or less between us and the sun. If the moon always passed directly between the sun and Earth at new moon, a solar eclipse would take place every month. But that doesn’t happen every month. Instead, in most months, the moon passes above or below the sun as seen from our earthly vantage point.

Then a day or two later, the moon reappears, in the west after sunset. Then it’s a slim waxing crescent visible only briefly after sunset – what some call a young moon.

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The myth of the full moon

Summer ends, and Autumn comes, and he who would have it otherwise would have high tide always and a full moon every night. 

- Hal Borland

The full moon always has me rushing outside to have a look. It somehow evokes feelings I cannot quite describe - euphoria, sadness, loneliness, feeling at one with nature and wonder at the magic of this light in the sky.

For centuries mankind has been intrigued by the notion that a full moon — which rises tonight — drives people to madness, crime, suicide and other  major crisis. 

One of the most enduring myths in human history, embedded in popular culture and folklore from Transylvania, is the myth of the werewolf. And like most popular myths, there's a certain logic to it: Earth is about 80 percent water, much like the human body, the theory goes, and if the moon's gravitational pull can effect the ocean tides, can't it also affect a person's body? 

Studies have found that cops and hospital workers are among the strongest believers in the notion that more crime and trauma occur on nights when the moon is full. One 1995 University of New Orleans study found that as many as 81 percent of mental health professionals believe the myth.

But there may be a simpler explanation for moon-induced behaviour: moonlight. One obvious explanation is that, before the advent of gas lighting at the beginning of the 19th century, the light of the moon permitted outdoor activities that were otherwise impossible. Full moon nights are 12 times brighter [under a clear sky] than at first or last quarter, and therefore it is likely that people stayed up later and slept less than the rest of the time. Even partial sleep deprivation can cause mania, and it is plausible that sleep disturbance during a full moon may function as positive feedback once a manic episode has begun in a predisposed person.

"Perhaps this lies at the origin of the association between madness and the full moon."

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Super Moon!

Skywatcher Tim McCord of Entiat, Washington caught this amazing view of the March 19, 2011 full moon - called a supermoon because the moon was at perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit - using a camera-equipped telescope. CREDIT: Tim McCord 

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend. The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5, 2012) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's biggest. 

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon. 

And not only does the moon's perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon's close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular. 

This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon. 

Though the unusual appearance of this month's full moon may be surprising to some, there's no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn't enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts say. 

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said. 

The last supermoon occurred in March 2011. 

To view this weekend's super moon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is. 

Info from Space.com  

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My Native land, Good Night!

“Here an ancient oriel window opened glassless to the sky

and the light of the hunter's moon washed us in silver.”
- Unknown

Black ink sketch on a textured back-ground by Kim Klassen

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It was full moon last night and when I switched off the garden lights, my garden was bathed in a golden glow... and I could've sworn I saw the fairies hiding under the mushrooms...

One website explains the full moon thus,
"The moon and sun are on a line, with Earth in between. It’s as though Earth is the fulcrum of a seesaw, and the moon and sun are sitting on either end of the seesaw. Thus as the sun sets in the west, the full moon rises. When the sun is below our feet at midnight, the full moon is highest in the sky. When the sun rises again at dawn, the full moon is setting."

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"Lunar eclipses can only occur at full moon, where the moon's orbit allows it to pass through the earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses do not occur every month because the moon sometimes passes above or below the earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses can occur only when the full moon occurs near two nodes of the orbit, either the ascending or descending nodes. This causes eclipses to only occur about every 6 months, and often 2 weeks before or after a solar eclipse at new moon at the opposite node.

Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity (hence the terms lunacy and lunatic) and various "magical phenomena" such as lycanthropy. Psychologists, however, have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon."
This info from WIKIPEDIA

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There you have it! No excuse for any bad behaviour in the future!

Have a good night tonight!

Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800ZOOM - taken in my garden

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Full Moon wonder

“Tell me what you feel in your room when the full moon is shining in upon you and your lamp is dying out, and I will tell you how old you are, and I shall know if you are happy.”
- Henri Frederic Amiel

The full moon just holds a special fascination for me. I try to get outside with every full moon to sketch it, but this past winter has been a bit too severe for me. And then the first full moon we have in September 2011, officially Spring here in South Africa, I go and miss! This is a photograph of the full moon in July, mid-winter and freezing cold, peeping through the bare branches of my 20-year old peach tree.

While I was outside with the camera, I took a pic of one of the garden lights which looks a lot like the full moon

and also one of my garden ornaments hanging from one of my White Karee's (Rhus viminalis)

Night time in the garden is also special for me - last summer I was lucky enough to see some fireflies around my Arum lilies (Zantedeschia), they made it look like a veritable fairy-land! Unfortunately they don't photograph well, either they're too small or they switch off just as the camera flashes!

Camera : FujiFinepix 2800Zoom

This was my last sketch of a full moon as seen through my studio window at 5am on the 21st January 2011.