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Having lived through the 60's, 70's and 80's (barely) I sometimes notice a decided lack of brain cells in my thought processes. So I decided to ask for help....

My question is, if there's a full moon tonite in New York (there isn't, by the way), would there also be a full moon, in say, Norway??? Or Yosemite??? Or even Thailand???

My calendar shows that the next full moon in my kitchen (Toronto) is planned for February 13th.

When's your next full moon, Faber? (The real one -- keep your pants on.) Anyone else?

To answer your question, if there is a full moon in, say, Toronto, the rest of the world should be treated by a full moon as well. This is because, while the earth rotates once a day (as far as I remember), the moon revolves around the earth only once a moonth...I mean, month.

So, roughly speaking, the moon you see tonight is almost exactly the same as the moon that will be seen half a day later in Siberia.

Another interesting tidbit...we only see one half of the moon. The face of the moon that you see tonight is the same face of the moon that you will see in 6 months or in 6 years. This is because the moon itself rotates at exactly the same rate that it revolves around the earth, keeping one side of the moon perpetually pointed towards the earth. This is an effect caused by tidal forces, the same force that powers the, uh...., tides.

One day the earth will be the same way, with one side constantly facing towards the sun while the other side is always pointed out towards the stars, after Earth's rotation has been sapped by tidal forces. However, this will be in the WAY WAY WAY distant future.

The moon is only "full" at a specific time every cycle. It doesn't matter what time zone, country, etc. (There will be ultra-minor angular differences, however negligible) The full moon will be theoretically overhead at midnight, on the night of the full moon. Just like the full moon will be rising just as the sun is setting.

There is plenty to read about the cycles of the moon, plenty of simple calcualtions, rise/set for the sun and moon, at any point on the planet, etc...

http://www.almanac.com/...onomy/moon/index.php

http://www.almanac.com/rise/

Peterk is right, to the naked eye the moon apears the same every where, at 11pm here or 11pm there it looks the same

thanks

I looked at the sites -- by angular differences, I guess you're talking about Northern or Southern Hemisphere (and how far north/south) although it looks like both hemispheres will still have the full moon on the same dates....

YTo answer your question, if there is a full moon in, say, Toronto, the rest of the world should be treated by a full moon as well. This is because, while the earth rotates once a day (as far as I remember), the moon revolves around the earth only once a moonth...I mean, month.
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You know, if it hadn't been for the last half of the 1980's, I might have been able to figure that out for myself.... Thanks....

http://www.sunrisesunset.com/

So, a couple things I've learned that you might or might not know, and might or might not help you in your adventures...

Pretty much when the moon is new (none), the next day, you will be able to see a sliver or the new growing moon, right behind the sunset. Roughly every night, the new, growing moon will set about an hour after the sun will set. When the moon is half full, it will set about six hours after the sun. On the full moon, it will rise at about the same time that the sun is setting. (Watch the sun set in the west, and the moon will be directly behind you, rising) And it will be overhead at midnight, and visible most all of the night. When the moon is growing, fun can most easily be had in the evenings and early mornings. When it is shrinking, it'll be a night jump before sunrise. If you remember what the moon phase is, simply size and if it is waxing (growing) or waning (shrinking), you will be able to make rough and reliable predictions of where it is and what it will be doing.

For example, today is roughly the 8th day in the cycle, and it is about 60% and growing. Just after sunset as I type this, the moon is about an hour away from being directly overhead, and will set in about 7 hours.

And daylight savings sucks, and the being overhead at midnight thing is variable on the sun rising and setting at approx the same time in the morning and night. Just like the sun won't be overhead at noon. And yes I know, in some places at some times, that will be true. I just don't want someone to point that out later, where we get into a huge discussion. BTW, I call them "chutes" and you can't stop me.