New Moon and Perigee

Those of you who receive the Moon guide will have noted that New Moon and Perigee occur within a couple of days of each other. Because the Moon is therefore closest to the earth it exerts a stronger magnetic pull on the tides and winds. Coupled with other phenomena, this can produce extreme weather. When I was doing the guide I decided to have a look at this month's situation in more detail and share my findings with you. If you look at the picture you will see running left to right the positions of the New Moon (the Sun is the circle with the dot, the Moon self explanatory)as it is rising. This crosses a line running from top to bottom which has a symbol like the eye in a hook and eye. This is called the Node of the Moon and is the point at which it crosses the earth's path. Where the two lines intersect is called a paran. This is the 'hotspot' where severe weather is likely to occur - i.e. Burma. The sloping lines are also involved and imply that Bangladesh will cop some too, but for simplicity the paran gives us a real focus for the weather. The dotted vertical line is the position of the planet Neptune - in my studies of tsunami or high todal waves Neptune is always involved. Whether it exerts a gravitational pull from such a distance or whether it's coincidental, I can't say with certainty.

Thanks Blossom. It took my tired old brain a few goes to digest this.

I know the feeling. I'll have a squizz at next month as there is a close new moon/ perigee/Peak North coincidence which is a really focused event. The perigee is even closer so it would be interesting to see where the 'hotspot' happens. Those poor people in Burma. I hate being right sometimes.