My Desktop Photo 37: South Klondike Highway

Photo by Andrew Stark
(click on photo for larger view)

Tonight's Full Moon

Tonight’s full moon will appear larger and brighter than any full moon since 1993. That’s because this full moon comes at the point in the moon’s orbit when it is nearest to the earth. When the full moon and this close orbital point coincide, our moon comes nearer than ever, and the nearer it is, the bigger and brighter it looks.1

Tonight’s moon will be less than 357,000 kilometers from the earth. We’ll have to wait until 2016 for it to come this close again.

As an added bonus for those of us in the northern hemisphere, this full moon will be higher in the sky than any other this year. We can look for it nearly overhead at midnight.

Why not plan an evening walk to enjoy this unusual occurance? You won’t need a flashlight because there will be 30% more light than this year’s other full moons.

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1See the notable difference in the size and brightness of the full moon between it’s perigee (when it’s closest to us) and it’s apogee (when it’s farthest from us).

Birth (4)

Samson Slaying a Lion
by Gustave Dore

There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.” Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like the appearance of the angel of God, very awesome. I did not ask him where he was from, and he did not tell me his name, but he said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’” (Judges 13:2-7 ESV)

And the woman bore a son and called his name Samson. And the young man grew, and the Lord blessed him. (Judges 13:24 ESV)