Central New York Gets to See a Rare Moon this Friday the 13th

A full moon will be visible in the sky this Friday — the first time one has occurred on Friday the 13th in nearly 20 years.

The last time the two events coincided was on Oct. 13, 2000. The big headlines that day were the terrorist bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen and Anthony Weiner's odd Twitter habits. As of now, the weather forecast for Friday looks like partly cloudy conditions, which could make for a spooky evening. Plus, there are other oddities surrounding this particular moon.

It’s also this year’s “harvest moon," which originated in early farming circles when big crops would come in at this time of the year and farmers would use the light of the moon to reap their rewards.
It's a "micromoon," as it reaches its apogee--the farthest point in its orbit around the earth. So, it will appear much smaller than normal.

Will this odd phenomenon affect human behavior? Well, Accuweather has reported “strange or insane behavior, including suicide, sleepwalking and violence" during full moons. Another study from Florida showed an increase in homicide and aggravated assault during full moons. Of course, we ARE talking about Florida.

Best time to view the moon: 12:23 Saturday morning. Be sure to catch it, because it won't occur again until Aug. 13, 2049.