A full moon is often thought of as an event of a full night’s duration. This is somewhat misleading, as the Moon seen from Earth is continuously becoming larger or smaller (though much too slowly to notice with the naked eye). Its absolute maximum size occurs at the moment expansion has stopped, and when graphed, its tangent slope is zero. For any given location, about half of these absolute maximum full moons will be potentially visible, as the other half occur during the day, when the full moon is below the horizon. Many almanacs list full moons not just by date, but by their exact time as well, usually in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)). Typical monthly calendars that include phases of the moon may be off by one day if intended for use in a different time zone.
Full Moons are traditionally associated with temporal insomnia, insanity (hence the terms lunacy and lunatic) and various “magical phenomena” such as lycanthropy. Psychologists, however, have found that there is no strong evidence for effects on human behavior around the time of a full moon. They find that studies are generally not consistent, with some showing a positive effect and others showing a negative effect. In one instance, the 23 December 2000 issue of the British Medical Journal published two studies on dog bite admissions to hospitals in England and Australia. The study of the Bradford Royal Infirmary found that dog bites were twice as common during a full moon, whereas the study conducted by the public hospitals in Australia found that they were less likely. (from Wikipedia)
This full moon was rising at sunset and was an unexpected bonus as I walked home from photographing the sunset at Cambridge Beach one evening. Then, just as I zoomed in on the moon for a closup shot, this seagull flew in front of it. I was not bitten by any dogs, nor did I encounter any werewolves or lunatics.
E.J. Lefavour
www.khanstudiointernational.com
Good Morning Gloucester 
What a great shot of the moon with seagull. The Lady in the Moon has a barrette. The moon was full last Wednesday but even this weekend with the snow cover I could not get to sleep without drawing the curtains the moonshine was so bright.
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Hi Paul – I love that; the lady in the moon with a barrette! I totally missed the full moon this time. I do remember looking up at all the stars last night and the night before, but didn’t see the moon at all.
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If anyone has trouble seeing the lady I drew her in:
Hope you don’t find that a desecration of your photo, a teaching tool only. 😉
My interpretation is not as pretty as the lady I actually see. She is a 1950’s hairdo mom.
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Didn’t see her at all. She kind of looks like a cross between Marge and Homer Simpson. Actually, the face I see now looks kind of like Fred Flintstone in a wig.
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ROFL. Depending on the waxing and waning I see Fred in a wig too or the 1950s lady. For years all I saw was the rabbit but that is a whole other story.
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Thank you for taking the time to put you work out there, I am currently out of state so the photos on this site are a touch stone for me. All you who contribute are wonderful.
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Hi Bobbi, we all contribute because we love this place and want to share it. The fact that it gives you a touch stone to home makes it all the more worthwhile.
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I enjoy your posts very much, E.J. You are multi-talented between your photos and your writing skills. Keep ’em coming!
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I want to disagree with the Psychologists, being in service industry our work is most definately lunacy during the full moons, and when it falls on the 1st of the month watch out!! Great article as always, can’t wait to meet you in September, hopefully you are still around Squam.
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Thanks so much, Patty.
Debra, I agree with you. I avoid driving during a full moon if at all possible, as there is a distinct increase in crazy driving. The psychologists said that in their studies, some subjects showed a positive effect and some showed a negative effect. You don’t need many negative effect ones in the mix to add a good dose of lunacy to a night out on a full moon.
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