Lunatic

James  Koo

Next Full Moon will be the brightest in 133 years. This year the December full moon will occur on the winter solstice, Dec. 22, 1999. Since a full Lunatic moon on the winter solstice occurs in conjunction with a lunar perigee (the point in which the moon's orbit is closest to Earth), the moon will appear  about 14% larger than it does at apogee (the point in its elliptical orbit when it is farthest from the Earth). Since the Earth is also several million miles closer to the sun at this time of the year than in the summer, sunlight striking the moon is about 7% stronger, making it appear brighter. Also, this will be the closest perigee of the Moon of the year since the moon's orbit is constantly deforming. In laymen's terms it will be a super bright full moon, much brighter than the usual AND it hasn't happened this way for 133 years! The last time this happened, on December 21st, 1866, the Lakota Sioux took advantage of the exceptionally bright moonlight and staged a devastating retaliatory ambush on soldiers in the Wyoming Territory.

Look for an eastern looking, hiking or paddling place, and between Dec. 20 and Dec. 24 you can enjoy some good nature activities in the moonshine. If you want to go straight from dusk to full "moonshine", go early (i.e. around Dec. 20) since the moon rises earlier before the full moon. After the 22nd start your hike late. Independently of the millennium, this is an unique natural phenomena that will occur once in your lifetime. Don't miss the lunacy!!