The fact that we're currently in the throes of the only Friday the 13th of 2014 can only help...
Every hundred years or so, a number of things align. The last time we had a Friday the 13th coincide with a full moon in June was June 13th 1919. The next one reportedly won't be 'til June 13th 2098. In short, if you feel the urge around midnight tonight to run outside, rip your top off and howl skyward - feel free, it's about the only time you'll be allowed get away with it. For the moon in tonight's sky is a special sort of moon - it's what scientists call a Honey Moon.
Here comes the science bit. According to NationalGeographic.com: "With the sun's path across the sky at its highest during this month of the summer solstice, the moon is at its lowest, which keeps the lunar orb close to the horizon and makes it appear more amber than other full moons this year... 'It is a similar phenomenon as seen at sunset, when sunlight is scattered towards the red end of the spectrum, making the sun's disk appear orange-red to the naked-eye,' says astronomer Raminder Singh Samra of the H. R. MacMillan Space Centre in Vancouver, Canada."
To clarify, the moon is not physically closer to us during this special event (apologies, but it is worth pointing that out), rather our feeble human minds are trying to make sense of the moon's proximity to more familiar objects, like trees and houses in the foreground, because it's hovering around the horizon.
Given the moon controls the tides, and we're 90% water, I wouldn't fancy working in an A&E department, Holles Street, or a retirement home tonight... It's going to be bonkers.
