Ridge Runner Chronicles – October 31, 2024
PROTECTED CONTENT
If you’re a current subscriber, log in below. If you would like to subscribe, please click the subscribe tab above.
Username and Password Help
Please enter your email and we will send you a password reset link.
About Those “Super Moons”
By BILL HOAGLAND
At about 10:00 p.m. on Thursday evening, October 17, I took Hank outside for his last leg-lifting of the day. (Yes, Hank is a dog, not a grandchild.) It was a clear night. In fact, there had not been a cloud in the sky all day and maybe all week. As I waited for Hank to do his business, I was “moon-struck”. It was a full moon, which I have seen time and again for over 80 years, but this one seemed different; it was larger than I had ever seen it or so it seemed. And it was magnificent in its quiet, silver dominance of everything else in the heavens. If I were a coyote, I’d have been howling for sure.
At 4:30 a.m. the next morning, I was back outside with Hank for his first leg-lift of the new day. The moon was now three-quarters done for the night, but brighter than ever. Hank looked as awestruck as I felt with all that moonlight pouring through the trees. It looked surreal.
Was I imagining things or was the moon closer than ever before? A little research revealed that I was witnessing the third of four successive “Super Moons” in a row—August, September, October and November, 2024. And yes, during these Super Moons, the moon is as close to us as it can get; actually, it is 30,000 miles closer than it was last March. That’s because the orbit of the moon around earth is elliptical, meaning that the orbit is not a perfect circle. There are times during that orbit when the moon is relatively close to us (technically referred to as the “perigee” of the moon) and times when it is as far away as it can get (technically referred to as the “apogee” of the moon). Someone has actually measured the relative appearances of the moon during a full moon perigee and a full moon apogee; based on these measurements, the moon I was looking at Thursday night looked 14% larger than a March full moon and 30% brighter than a March full moon. So it wasn’t just my imagination.
If the perigee full moon is that close, you have to wonder if its gravitational pull impacts us humans. It does cause higher tides but according to scientists, it does not cause earthquakes or volcanic eruptions despite the fact that several have occurred during Super Moons. However, according to astrologists (as distinguished from astronomers), a Super Moon does impact our personal lives. To quote a “certified” astrologist, you need to be careful during a Super Moon, especially if you are an Aries, because you could get “an extra level of rambunctiousness” with the moon so close. (Maybe that explains why some people go nuts with the scary stuff in the yard even weeks before Halloween.) So if you have been just a tad too “rambunctious” lately and people are critical of your behavior, just give them a toothy grin and tell them it’s because the moon is too close right now.
In all seriousness, I suggest you venture out in the moonlight for our next Super Moon, which will occur on November 18, to appreciate what nature has to offer free of charge. Viewing our natural world is a great (and cheap) way to entertain ourselves without money, reservations, or booze.
–––––––––––––––––––
■ Bill Hoagland has practiced law in Alton for more than 50 years, but he has spent more than 70 years hunting, fishing and generally being in the great outdoors. His wife, Annie, shares his love of the outdoor life. Much of their spare time is spent on their farm in Calhoun County. Bill can be reached at [email protected].
