Get ready for picture-perfect super moons on Sunday and Monday
Plus, more of those king tides you've been hearing so much about.
Other than some gusty winds to start the weekend, things have been quite tranquil in the weather department lately. It looks like the dry weather will continue at least into Monday, and this bodes well for viewing this month’s full moon.
Sunday and Monday nights will both provide perfect viewing opportunities for the super moon, a popular term give to those times during the year when the moon is full and passes closely to Earth. This month, the super moon is also called the Beaver Moon because, back in the day, this was a good time of year to set beaver traps.
On Sunday, November 13, the moon will rise at about 4:15 p.m., just as the sun is setting. This means the moon will come up with a white hue due to the sun still being above the horizon.
The moon will rise as the sun is setting on Sunday and Monday.
On Monday, November 14, the moon will rise at about 5 p.m., just after the sun sinks below the western horizon. This means the moon should take on a more-or-less orange-yellow hue as it rises.
According to NASA, the moon’s closest pass will technically come at 6:21 a.m. Monday, at which point the center of the moon will be within 221,523 miles (356,508 kilometers) of the center of the Earth. The last time the moon came that close was back in January 1948—it was actually 29 miles closer that year. In 2034, the moon will come even closer—within 221,485 miles.
With the moon so close to the Earth, the pull from it that causes our tides will also be near its greatest of the year. This means more of those so-called king tides, which are simply just astronomically high tides. While several of the upcoming tides will be higher than average, the peak high tide will occur Wednesday at noon. Let’s hope we don’t have any sort of storm, as that would make it easy for beach erosion and coastal flooding to occur.
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