Friday, October 06, 2006

Harvest Moon

Tonight's full moon has a special name--the "Harvest Moon." It's the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Long ago, before electric lights, farmers relied on the Harvest Moon to light up their fields at night, allowing them to harvest autumn crops even after sunset.

When the Harvest Moon rises tonight, go outside and look around. You might see some strange things.

This particular Harvest Moon is unusually big--almost 12% wider than some full Moons we've seen earlier this year. Why? Because the Moon is near perigee, the side of the Moon's lopsided orbit that comes closest to Earth.

The weather prediction here is clear skies (for a change), so I might be able to look at it thru the telescope. What would be cool would be to see the snoqualmie falls in this moonlight, it would be all glittery and shiny!

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