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Photo Credit: Ursi’s Eso Garden

I admit it; I’m an avid moon watcher and have been since a small child! I find nothing more mystifying than watching the silhouettes of the trees and the clouds against the dark sky lit only by the light of the moon.

Hopefully, tonight you will have clear skies and more lunacy! Last month the full moon was the largest of 2008, this month it will be the biggest and brightest of 2009! The moon orbits around the earth every 29.5 days, however the orbit is not perfectly elliptical, at one point during its orbit the moon is 31,000 miles closer to the planet Earth. So, the moon will not only appear to be closer to the earth but it actually will be! As the oceans tides are directly affected by the moon, the tides will be higher tonight as well.

Here’s a few other ‘moon facts’:

Every month the full moon has a Native American title, January is known as the Wolf Moon, February the Hunger Moon, March the Worm Moon, April the Planter’s Moon, May the Flower Moon, June the Strawberry Moon, July the Buck Moon, August the Moon the of the Green Corn, September the Harvest Moon, October the Blood Moon, November the Beaver Moon and December the Cold Moon.

During the night of the full moon the sun will set at the same time that the moon rises, this is what constitutes a full moon, when the moon and the sun are on opposite ends of the planet. Although, the only time that the moon is 100% full is during a lunar eclipse, when all three objects, the moon, the earth and sun, are equally aligned.

The highest mountain on the moon is over 16,000 feet, which is taller than Mt. Rainer in Washington State.

Tonight, if you get a chance, at sunset go out and take a little bit of time to watch the rising of the first full moon of the year, remember it’s the closest to the planet that it will be until be until 2010!

~Wind

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