What we’re about
Ahoy there. Join us for a potluck picnic on the Pont des Arts footbridge in the center of Paris while you watch the full moon rise over the Seine. The best view after dark in the City of Lights with some of the nicest people around. This group has been meeting for half a dozen years with announcements via email and word of mouth - and now for the first time on Meetup.com.
We meet every month, weather and schedules permitting, to enjoy a potluck picnic on Pont des Arts, the footbridge in the center of Paris, while we watch the full moon rise. Everybody brings finger food, drinks and conversation to share.
My direct email is bobmohl2@aol.com
Ciao for niao,
Captain Bob
Upcoming events (1)
See all- Attend Full Moon Picnic Thur May 23 at 9 PM on Pont des ArtsPont des Arts, Paris
Ahoy there,
Next full moon picnic will be Thursday**, May 23 from 9 - 11 P.M.** Moonrise will be around 10:30 P.M.
May is known by American Indians for the Full Flower Moon because of the wide appearance of flowers during this month. It's also known as Full Corn Planting Moon (for obvious reasons) and as the Milk Moon (for reasons unknown to me, but ones you're invited to research or invent).
WHAT: Everyone brings food and drink to share.
WHERE: Pont des Arts. We'll probably gather around the 2nd bench from the Right Bank side of the bridge. Nearest metros: Pont Neuf and Louvre-Rivoli.
WHEN: Thursday**,** May 23 from 9 - 11 P.M.
WHY: Share one of the most memorable sights in Paris with some of the nicest people around.
WHO: You and your friends.
THEME: National Buddha Day - share your compassion, peace and goodwill.
BIRTHDAYS: Are you a Gemini? If so, bring a cake and let me know so we can celebrate your birthday this month and blow out the world’s largest birthday candle.
HOW to find us: Keep your eyes out for a bunch of lunatics eating, drinking an chatting in English and French. Look for a small white telescope, weather permitting.
PUZZLER I: How did the dawn, the north wind and Galileo bring us the aurora borealis?
PUZZLER I ANSWER: It took until 1619 Galileo to come up with this name for the northern lights - after they’d been observed for many millennia, documented on a cave drawing in France some 30,000 years ago. Galileo combined the name of the Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora with the Greek god of the north wind, Boris. Uh... I mean Boreas.
PUZZLER II: What causes the aurora borealis? Yes, it happens when large storms on the surface of the sun eject solar winds. But how does that result in the spectacular light show in the night sky?
PUZZLER II ANSWER:
Energized particles from the solar wind slam into Earth’s atmosphere and some are captured by the magnetic field.
"The light you see comes from photons released by oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere. Energetic particles from the solar wind strike the layer of the atmosphere called the ionosphere, ionizing the atoms and molecules. When the ions return to the ground state, energy released as light produces the aurora. Each element releases specific wavelengths, so the colors you see depend on the type of atom that is excited, how much energy it received, and how the wavelengths of light blend with each other. “Oxygen: The big player in the aurora is oxygen. Oxygen is responsible for the vivid green (wavelength of 557.7 nm) and also for a deep brownish-red (wavelength of 630.0 nm). Pure green and greenish-yellow aurorae result from the excitation of oxygen.
Nitrogen: Nitrogen emits blue (multiple wavelengths) and red light
Other Gases: Other gases in the atmosphere become excited and emit light, although the wavelengths may be outside of the range of human vision or else too faint to see. Hydrogen and helium, for example, emit blue and purple. Although our eyes can't see all of these colors, photographic film and digital cameras often record a broader range of hues.”
https://www.thoughtco.com/causes-aurora-borealcolors-607595PUZZLER III: Did you catch the spectacular light show a few days ago? If not, are you sad you missed the chance of a lifetime?
PUZZLER IIII ANSWER: No, you’re not sad. Solar activity generally cycles over a period of roughly 11 years. Solar Cycle 25 began in December 2019 and may peak in July 2025. Hopefully there will be more chances to see the northern lights further south than usual still this year and perhaps even more spectacularly next year.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ariannajohnson/2024/05/16/northern-lights-2024-heres-when-you-may-see-the-next-aurora-borealis/ciao for niao,
Captain Bob