Despite being stranded in the middle of the ocean floating on a stack of luggage, Tom Hanks could only utter these few words as he watched the moon rise: "Dear God, whose name I do not know. Thank you for my life".
If you've ever watched that epic scene from Joe Versus The Volcano where Tom Hanks is literally awestruck by the full moon, then you'll know exactly why watching the moonrise is a worthwhile activity.
For those of you who haven't seen Joe Versus the Volcano before, here is the clip from YouTube:
Joe Versus The Volcano - MoonriseDepending on your location, the moon might not be as big as what you saw in that clip. But watching the full moon rise is not only free, it also happens less frequently than the sunrise, and you get to watch the sunset as well. So you're really seeing two majestic shows of mother nature for the price of one.
It's also a very romantic setting if you're out on a date, and on a deeper level there's something powerful that stirs inside when watching the day cycle in towards night.
The best way to catch the full moon rising is to first work out when the full moon dates are in your area, because this will of course be different for everyone depending on your location. You may already have the moon phases on your calendar.
The next step is to find out what time the moonrise is. In Australia there's a
moonrise calculator for that on the Geosciences Australia website, but don't let the geek factor of the name scare you, it only asks for your location and does the rest.
It's best to plan a few days ahead, so you can also pick an ideal spot before you watch the moonrise. That way if you miss the actual full moon you can still catch it a couple of days afterward with no dramas at all, as the moon will still be quite full and well lit.
