Attend Full Moon Picnic Sat Aug 29, 8:30 PM

Ahoy there,
The next moonrise picnic will be Sat, August 29 from 8:30 PM to 10 PM. (Full moon is officially Aug 26.)
Sunset around 8:30 PM. Moonrise around 9:15 PM.

According to the Farmer's Almanac: This is the Full Sturgeon Moon "The fishing tribes are given credit for the naming of this Moon, since sturgeon, a large fish of the Great Lakes and other major bodies of water, were most readily caught during this month. A few tribes knew it as the Full Red Moon because, as the Moon rises, it appears reddish through any sultry haze. It was also called the Green Corn Moon or Grain Moon.”

WHAT: Everyone brings food and drinks to share.

WHERE: Pont des Arts. We'll gather around the 2nd bench from the Right Bank side of the bridge. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.

WHEN: Saturday Aug 29 from 8:30 - 10 PM

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: Keep your eyes out for a small telescope on tripod if the sky is clear. Look for a bunch of friendly people speaking English, French or gibberish, drinking and munching around a bench towards the Right Bank side of the bridge.

THEME: Eclipse glasses. Bring em to add style and mystery. You will be able to look for sunspots before sunset.

BIRTHDAYS: Are you a Virgo? If so, bring a cake so we can celebrate your birthday this month and blow out the world’s largest birthday candle.

PUZZLER I: A total solar eclipse occurs when the view of the sun is completely eclipsed by the moon. However, the view of the recent total eclipse in Iceland and Spain included not just two, but three heavenly bodies? Which was the third?

PUZZLER I ANSWER: I saw the rare sunset eclipse from Es Trenc beach in Mallorca. After we set up camp early at the spot I had scouted the day before, it gradually became clear that this spot was also the nudist part of the beach. Without any commentary one way or the other, I’ll just say that these were not the heavenly bodies the Puzzler was referring to (for a couple of reasons, one of which you can guess if you’ve ever been to a nudist beach 😂). No, the third heavenly body was Earth, which is never really part of your view when you’re looking at a typical eclipse overhead. However when the eclipse occurs just before sunset, Earth’s horizon plays a prominent role (in fact scouting in advance was important to make sure the horizon wasn’t so high that it would obscure the setting sun before the moon did). It was a rare chance to see/feel a visceral connection between Earth, Moon and Sun all in a single view! An awesome sensation spanning different scales and distances.

Speaking of scales and distances I remind you that we're incredibly lucky that the moon is exactly the right size at exactly the right distance to exactly cover the sun during a total solar eclipse. The sun is 400 times as distant as the moon; the sun is 400 times as wide the moon. So the coincidence is literally cosmic, out of this world! 🤣

PUZZLER II: Are the Sun and Moon dancing with each other?

PUZZLER II ANSWER:
Sort of. Just as Paris saw a 92% partial solar eclipse on Aug 12, there will be a 96% partial lunar eclipse on Aug 28th. A lunar eclipse and a solar eclipse are complementary celestial events driven by the same alignment of the Sun, Earth, and Moon, but with opposite geometry. The catch is Paris you’ll have to be up at 6 AM to see the peak of the partial lunar eclipse shortly before the full moon sets. The paths of Sun and Moon across the sky mirror each other in many ways. In the summer when the sun appears high in the sky, the moon appears low and vice versa in winter.

Another part of the dance: if you want to know where a full moon will appear on the horizon, look at where your shadow is pointing at sunset. Extend that line to the horizon and that’s where you’ll see the moon first appear.

ciao for niao,
Captain Bob