This should be freakishly fun. This week's full moon _ on Friday the 13th _ will be the first of its kind since way back in 2006.
Do the math. All we need now is an elevator to the 13th floor, and the creep factor will be off the charts.
But September's curiously-timed full moon _ called a "Harvest Moon" because it's the nearest one to the autumnal equinox Sept. 23 _ will be even more unusual: This one also will be a so-called "Split Time Zone Full Moon," which as the Farmer's Almanac explains is quite rare as well:
"Interestingly, the last time this happened _ June 13, 2014 _ it was the reverse of what will happen this month," according to the article. "It was a Friday the 13th full Moon solely for the Eastern Time Zone, with the Moon turning full just after midnight; for the rest of the country, the full Moon was the day before, on Thursday, the 12th. Nationwide we haven't had a Friday the 13th full Moon since October 13th, 2000, and it won't happen again until August 13th, 2049!"
What that means is that if you live on the East Coast, the moment this Harvest Moon turns full actually will occur just after midnight, at 12:33 a.m. on Saturday the 14th. But if you're lucky enough to be a resident of the Central, Mountain or Pacific time zones _ that means us, California! _ that moment of full moon blossom will occur just before midnight on Friday the 13th.
Oooooooooooo, scary!
All this is adding up to a very crazy Friday the 13th. Throw in a bit of collective triskaidekaphobia (extreme superstition of the number 13), as well as the infamous lunar effect that suggests a correlation between moon cycles and creepy human behavior like sleepwalking and even violence, and you've got the makings of a bit of full-blown Moon Madness.
There's another reason why this particular full moon stands out. It nearly coincides with something called "apogee," which the Almanac describes as "that point in its orbit which places it at its greatest distance from the Earth: 252,100 miles away. Remember last February, when the full Moon coincided with perigee, its closest point to Earth? The Moon was more than 30,000 miles closer and was accordingly branded a 'Supermoon.'"
That's why astronomers say Friday's full moon will look about 14% smaller than a supermoon. That's a full moon that closely coincides with perigee, which is the closest the moon ever gets to Earth during its elliptic orbit, hence the larger size when viewed from Earth. Finally, the illuminated area of a micromoon appears 30% smaller, so it might also look a little less bright than your everyday full moon.
But enough boring science already. Pray for clear skies, then get out there and enjoy the show.
