Don’t Blame the Moon

2/12/06 – 2/18/06

By C. Zaitz

Overheard in Dearborn Heights: “I don't know if it's the phase of the Moon or what but this past week has been crazy.”
Overheard at U of M Dearborn: “It must be the full Moon; you can tell because people are acting crazy.” Overheard anywhere: “When the Moon is full everyone gets crazy! Police say they notice it, hospitals notice it, everyone knows it, it must be true!”

Here are some things we know about the Moon. The Full Moon is the brightest object in the night sky. The Moon looks full a day before and a day after it’s full. The Moon is 240,000 miles away, on average.

So what about the idea that the Moon phase affects crime rates and “lunacy” here on Earth. One might ask, “what is it about the Full Moon that would make people crazy.” Often people will say, “It's the Moon's gravity that affects us, just as it affects the oceans by making the tides.” But how much does gravity really affect us? It's true that the Moon affects the Earth, but gravity is a force that gets weaker with distance. The Earth has a great diameter, so the pull of the Moon’s gravity on the near side of the Earth is slightly stronger than on the far side of the Earth, causing the water in the oceans to be pulled toward the Moon when the Moon is over it. The difference is not great, but it’s enough to cause tides. The Moon also tugs on the land, but dirt and rocks are not as squishy as water, so we don’t notice land-tides. But humans are small, and the difference between the pull from the Moon on your front versus your back is almost zero. A fly landing on your arm has more gravitational effect on you than the Moon. And that’s not much! So gravity just doesn’t seem to be a good explanation.

Some folks look to female cycles and their apparent match to the lunar cycle as proof of the Moon's effect on us, but the Moon's cycle of phases is fixed at 29.5 days. Female human cycles can vary by up to a dozen days, not to mention that other species have very different cycles. Why wouldn't the Moon effect even larger animals such as bears or rhinos?

The fact is that scientists have studied hundreds of records of suicides, births, accidents and have found no correlation between the phase of the Moon and these events. So why is the “Full Moon – Lunacy” phenomenon so widespread? Some scientists think that it’s a psychological selection process. Much like many urban legends or myths, when we hear something interesting like, “the Moon causes craziness” we turn on our Moon radar and become more aware of it. The Full Moon is much brighter than the Moon in any other phase, and it’s always very noticeable. When you see the Full Moon, you might be more ready to connect its appearance with anything strange going on, more so than at other times of the Moon’s cycle. It’s good to notice the Moon, just don’t blame it!

You can enjoy the Full Moon on the 13th, and watch it diminish each day thereafter. Mars and Saturn still rule the evening sky in the south west, but Jupiter and Venus make a formidable duo in the morning skies. Look to the southeast right before sunrise!

Until next week, my friends, enjoy the view!