"Super Moon" Party TONIGHT!

On Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT, the moon will officially turn full. 

And only 25 minutes later the moon will also arrive at perigee, 

its closest approach to Earth — a distance of 221,802 miles away. 

The perigee full Moon in May will be as much as 

14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons of 2012. 

The effect of this coincidence is a stunning sky

watching sight called the "supermoon."

Saturday also marks the midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. 

The exact moment between the March equinox and the 

June solstice occurs at 10:11 a.m. EDT May 5. 

Traditionally, the full moon of May is known as the 

"Flower Moon" since flowers are now abundant most everywhere. 

It is also known as the Full Corn Planting Moon or the Milk Moon.

Although a full moon theoretically lasts just a moment,

that moment is imperceptible to ordinary observation, 

and for a day or so before and after most will speak of seeing

 the nearly full moon as "full." The shaded strip is so narrow, 

and changing in apparent width so slowly, that it is hard for the naked eye

 to tell whether it is present or on which side it is.

The Blue Moon


Each year, the moon completes its final cycle about 11

days before the Earth finishes its orbit around the sun.

These days add up, and every two and a half years or so,

 there is an extra full moon, called a blue moon. 

The origin of the term is uncertain, and its precise definition 

has changed over the years. The term is commonly used today

 to describe the second full moon of a calendar month, 

but it was originally the name given to the third full

 moon of a season containing four full moons.

... WHAT'S IN THE NAME ...

January:  Wolf Moon


Native Americans and medieval Europeans

 named January's full moon after the howling of hungry

wolves lamenting the midwinter paucity of food.

Other names for this month's full moon include old moon and ice moon. 

February:  Snow Moon


The typically cold, snowy weather of February

 in North America earned its full moon the name snow moon.

Other common names include storm moon and hunger moon. 

March:  Worm Moon


Native Americans called this last full moon of winter

 the worm moon after the worm trails that would appear

 in the newly thawed ground. Other names include chaste moon,

 death moon, crust moon (a reference to snow that would become crusty

 as it thawed during the day and froze at night),

 and sap moon, after the tapping of the maple trees. 

April:  Pink Moon


Northern Native Americans call April's full moon

 the pink moon after a species of early blooming wildflower. 

In other cultures, this moon is called the sprouting 

grass moon, the egg moon, and the fish moon. 

 May:  Flower Moon 

May's abundant blooms give its full moon

 the name flower moon in many cultures. Other names include 

the hare moon, the corn planting moon, and the milk moon. 

June:  Strawberry Moon


In North America, the harvesting of strawberries in June gives 

that month's full moon its name.

Europeans have dubbed it the rose moon, while other cultures

 named it the hot moon for the beginning of the summer heat. 

July:  Buck Moon


Male deer, which shed their antlers every year, 

begin to regrow them in July, hence the Native American name

 for July's full moon. Other names include thunder moon, 

for the month's many summer storms, and hay moon, after the July hay harvest. 

August:  Sturgeon Moon


North American fishing tribes called August's full moon

 the sturgeon moon since the species was abundant during

 this month. It's also been called the green corn moon, 

the grain moon, and the red moon for the reddish

 hue it often takes on in the summer haze. 

September:  Harvest Moon


The most familiar named moon, September's harvest moon

 refers to the time of year after the autumn equinox when

 crops are gathered. It also refers to the moon's particularly

 bright appearance and early rise, which lets farmers continue

harvesting into the night. Other names include the

 corn moon and the barley moon. 

October:  Hunter's Moon


The first moon after the harvest moon is the hunter's moon, 

so named as the preferred month to hunt summer-fattened

 deer and fox unable to hide in now bare fields. 

Like the harvest moon, the hunter's moon is also particularly

 bright and long in the sky, giving hunters the opportunity

 to stalk prey at night. Other names include the

 travel moon and the dying grass moon. 

November:  Beaver Moon


There is disagreement over the origin of November's

 beaver moon name.  Some say it comes from Native Americans

 setting beaver traps during this month, while others say the name

 comes from the heavy activity of beavers building their winter

 dams. Another name is the frost moon. 

December:  Cold Moon


The coming of winter earned December's full moon

the name cold moon. Other names include the

 long night moon and the oak moon. 

HAPPY MOON

WATCHING