Paris Full Moon Picnic Group

Ahoy there,
The next full moon picnic will be Tuesday, October 7 from 6:30 - 8:30 PM - UNLESS A RAINY WEATHER FORECAST PROMPTS US TO MEET A DAY EARLIER ON MONDAY OCTOBER 6. YOU MUST RSVP IF YOU WANT TO BE INFORMED OF ANY SCHEDULE CHANGE. Moonrise will be around 7:30pm. (Sunset around 7 pm).

Richly colored autumn leaves are starting to fall; deer are fattened up for winter. Fields have been harvested leaving them bare for fox and hare to glean the ground for leftover grain. It is time to hunt. At least according to American Indians who called October's Full Moon the Hunter's Moon. This year it is also the Harvest Moon - the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox on September 22.

WHEN: Tuesday, 7 October 6:30 - 8:30 PM

WHERE: Pont des Arts. We'll gather around the third bench from the left bank side of the bridge. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.

WHAT: Everyone brings food and drink to share.

WHY: Share one of the most memorable sights in Paris with some of the nicest people around.

WHO: You and your friends.

HOW to find us: Look for a group of “lunatics” speaking English and French gathered around a bench near the middle of the bridge. Look for a small telescope (or two) if it’s not raining.

BIRTHDAYS: Are you a Libra? If so, let me know so we can celebrate your birthday this month and blow out the world’s largest birthday candle.

THEME: Red sky at night, picnicker’s delight.

PUZZLER I: Why is the sky blue? Why are sunsets red?

PUZZLER I ANSWER: I’ve had to repeat this explanation regularly at our picnics - even though this was posed as a Puzzler question a few years ago. Haven’t you been paying attention? Here’s the answer again:

The blue end of the spectrum has shorter wavelengths and scatters more when it encounters dust particles in the atmosphere and the red end of the spectrum with longer wavelengths scatters less. So light from the sun that scatters the most across the sky is the shorter wavelengths making the sky appear blue. Likewise light seen coming directly from sun is more reddish because the longer wavelengths scatter less. This is especially true at sunset when the sunlight light reaching your eyes travels horizontally through dozens and dozens of kilometers of atmosphere encountering many more dust particles scattering the shorter blue wavelengths away. This is the same reason the full moon appears much more reddish as it appears on the horizon and less so as it rises in the sky. When the moon is overhead its light shines down vertically through only a few kilometers of atmosphere. That's why the view is so breathtaking when you can catch the moonrise as close to the horizon as possible - especially on a romantic date!

PUZZLER II: Why is the Harvest moon more famous than other full moons?

PUZZLER II ANSWER: First, there’s more dust pollution in the air as farmers' tractors churn up the fields around harvest time, making the moonrise even more red. Also the Harvest Moon is more noticeable/notable is because it’s visible around sunset at least 3 days running.The moon rises an *average* of 50 minutes later each night but depending on the time of year and location. In Paris for example, moonrise can occur more than 75 minutes later from one night to the next. However when the full moon is near the Autumnal Equinox, moonrise is only 16 or 17 minutes later each night. Therefore people are more aware of this full moon because they notice it at sunset several nights running and may mention it to friends. It’s probably called the Harvest Moon because it illuminated the fields after dusk several nights in a row helping the farmers with their harvests.