Jean in Wisc Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 (edited) I put this together for a few of the homeschool groups in the area. Thought I'd pass it on to you as well. Hopefully your weather forecast is better than ours! :) Jean Tonight the moon will be full--but not only will it be full, but it will be larger and brighter than most full moons! I've put together some information about the full moon that you might not know: The Algonquian Indians called the January full moon the Wolf Moon--a time when the Wolves howled longer through the night, perhaps because the food was scarce or, due to the earth being closer to the sun this time of year, the moon is brighter. Europeans called it Old moon. I, however, prefer the name of Ice Moon. It seems so appropriate in Wisconsin! A full moon occurs when the sun, earth, and moon line up in a row. If the moon is directly behind the earth, we get an eclipse; but usually the moon is a little above or below so that the earth does not block the light coming from the sun. This website shows the moon's rotation around the earth and how that affects what shape the moon takes when viewed from earth: http://home.hiwaay.net/~krcool/Astro/moon/moonphase/ If you think about it, in order for the moon to be full, the sun must be located on one side of the earth, while the moon is on the other. As the earth spins today, we will see the sun rise in the east and set in the west; at the time that the sun is setting, we will see the moon rising in the east. ALWAYS when full, the moon is rising when the sun is setting. Tonight the moon should rise a little after 5:00 p.m. here in Wisconsin. The moon is not always the same distance from earth because its path around the earth is an ellipse--when it is at its closest, it is know as being "at perigee"; when it is at its furthest, it is know as "at apogee". Two days from now (Fri., Jan. 21st), the moon will be at perigee. At this website, you can see a picture of the full moon at perigee and apogee: http://www.moonconnection.com/apogee_perigee.phtml You can see the difference, can't you! So...the moon tonight is full, it is brighter than usual, and bigger than usual...but we are suppose to have clouds. <sigh> So how might you observe tonight's full moon? I suggest you take a walk in the moonlight--even if it is cloudy, usually there is enough light to walk outside without a flashlight if you let your eyes adjust to the darkness. Beware--white light from a flash light will cause your pupils to shrink, so spend a little time in the dark letting your eyes adjust with your lights and flashlights turned off. If you have a red flashlight, take that with you if you want--red does not affect your eye's dilation as much as white light. You can make a red flashlight with red fingernail polish--adjust the amount of light that is let through the lens with a bit of polish remover. Or, if you are not into a late night hike, what about making a meal of foods that are round? Apples, oranges, pancakes, pizza... And we will hope for the clouds to open up enough for a peak at tonight's great big moon! Jean Edited January 20, 2011 by Jean in Wisc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nan in Mass Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Ok. That was very cool. Some of it, I knew. I know that the full moon tends to rise when we are having supper every month because our supper table window faces east. And I know there is a children's moon. I didn't know how the rising of the other phases were connected, though. It never ceases to amaze me, the simple things we were NOT taught at school. Ug. We'll probably have clouds tonight, but a few nights ago, the moon was so very bright on the snow that it almost looked like day. Thank you. -Nan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Jean, you are so awesome! What a contribution to these boards you are! :grouphug: Thank you for posting this. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 Jean, you are so awesome! What a contribution to these boards you are! :grouphug: Thank you for posting this. :) Do you know how much fun it is to be awesome? :D You are welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie in MN Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Thanks so much Jean! Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 19, 2011 Share Posted January 19, 2011 Do you know how much fun it is to be awesome? :D You are welcome. HAHAHAHAHA!! :lol::lol: Ummm.... actually I don't. I'm more "doofus" than "awesome" personally. lol ;) :D:tongue_smilie::lol: hehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted January 19, 2011 Author Share Posted January 19, 2011 HAHAHAHAHA!! :lol::lol: Ummm.... actually I don't. I'm more "doofus" than "awesome" personally. lol ;) :D:tongue_smilie::lol: hehe Yeah, well that is how I normally feel, too. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Wisc Posted January 20, 2011 Author Share Posted January 20, 2011 one more time in case someone gets to see it yet today. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M&M Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Thanks Jean! We are sitting in the waiting room of our chiropractor and I just read this to dc. We were looking at the moon on the way here. Now we know so much more. Dd 4 called the moon a "cookie moon". I like Ice Moon we have had a lot of that lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 We have a few clouds, but the moon is *beautiful.* :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ibbygirl Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I got to see the moon last night on my way to church and on the way back home. It was SO HUGE on the way up and still so big and beautiful on the way back home. It was a clear night too so it was really beautiful. I thought about your post and was telling dd about it as we looked at the moon. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I live in a city and sometimes the sun and moon are hidden behind buildings. From my balcony, I can see the sun rise in the summer, but not the winter. I can see the full moon rise in the winter, but not the summer. The full moon rises where the sun did exactly 6 months ago. The new moon rises where the sun is currently rising. My best view is of northeast risings and northwest settings. True east and west are blocked by buildings and south is on the other side my building. Sometimes a friend and I go outside with a compass and hunt down the moon, trying to catch a glimpse of it where the buildings are not as tall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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