A Big Moon in the Sky Like a Great Pizza Pie... Again

I have to wake up early Sunday morning and go to work, so I am going to make this short. In case you are wondering why I might need to go to work at 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday morning - it is the time people would be least affected if the new computer programs we are about to put out there decide not to work properly. So we work these odd ball hours sometimes.

Image via Wikipedia

Tonight is a full moon - the Lenten Moon to be exact.  Also known as Worm Moon, Crow Moon, Crust Moon, Sugar Moon, Sap Moon, Moon of Winds, Chaste Moon and Death Moon.  Some of these names are more obvious as to their origin, but others are not.  What is with "Death Moon"?  Curious, I went on a bit of a hunt and found this poem:

Neo Pagan Moon
     by RM Wey

Come new year...the Ice Moon,
The Snow Moon...cometh nigh,
The Ides of March...the Death Moon,
Yet the Awakening Moon...doth rise.

And yonder come the Grass Moon,
The Planting Moon tis wise,
For the Rose Moon...but doth follow,
The Lightning Moon denies.

The Harvest Moon doth shineth,
As the Blood Moon saunders by,
The Tree Moon be the twilight,
As the Long Night Moon...doth die.

I was hoping to get a glance of it as the moon rose in the east - but no luck as the clouds obscured it.  Maybe I will get to see it if it is visible in the western sky when I wake up.  The full moon this month is a special treat -- it is what is called a "super moon".

I have blogged about the Moon before and why it looks so much larger as it is rising or setting in horizon - it is due to something called  Moon Illusion. I also blogged about the full moon called Snow Moon about a month ago and used it to introduce a favourite romantic movie of mine, Moonstruck. I think the moon in the movie Moonstruck must have meant to represent a super moon.  A super moon appears very much larger than the usual full moon.


From UK's Daily Mail Science & Tech Section:

The phenomenon of the lunar perigee can occur around four or five times a year, but tonight’s more dramatic version happens only once every other decade. It was first dubbed a 'Supermoon' in the 1980s by the American astrologer Richard Nolle, who claims extreme lunar perigees can provoke tidal waves, earthquakes and storms.

A science lesson on super moons.




I am not going to be able to put together a long blog today, so thought I would just treat everyone to a selection of moon songs.   I think there is one here for just about everyone's taste.