NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
A2
Saturday, April 17, 2021
Supermoons on the rise this spring
By JAMIE HALE
The Oregonian
PORTLAND — Skies in
the Pacifi c Northwest have
fi nally started to clear, which
should bode well for stargaz-
ers hoping to catch the super-
moons coming this season.
There will be several big
moons in 2021, according
to astronomers, most nota-
bly the full moons on April
26 and May 26, the latter of
which will take place during
a total lunar eclipse.
The term “supermoon”
is unofficial, though it is
generally thought of as a full
moon that is a little larger
and brighter than normal as
it reaches its closest point
to Earth. Because the moon
follows an elliptical path
around the Earth, its distance
from our planet (known as
the perigee) varies through-
out the year.
Scientists refer to the
phenomenon as “perigee
syzygy,” meaning the align-
ment of the Earth, moon
and sun at the moon’s clos-
est point in its orbit. It could
occur during either a full
moon or a new moon, though
full moons naturally receive
all the attention.
The term “supermoon”
was coined not by an astron-
omer but by astrologer Rich-
ard Nolle, who in a 1979
Kathy Aney/East Oregonian, File
The moon rises on April 7, 2020, over a Pendleton wheat fi eld. There will be several big moons in 2021, according to astron-
omers, most notably the full moons on April 26 and May 26, the latter of which will take place during a total lunar eclipse.
magazine article said he
considered the moon to be
“super” when it is within
90% of its closest approach
to Earth in a given orbit. In
2000, Nolle published a chart
listing every supermoon for
the next 100 years, accord-
ing to his calculations, posted
online at astropro.com.
Over the years, differ-
ent organizations have used
different calculations to
determine what, exactly,
counts as a supermoon, with
most landing on a perigee of
223,000 to 225,000 miles.
That diff erence occasionally
invites disagreement about
how many supermoons there
are in a given year.
Two of this year’s full
Forecast for Pendleton Area
| Go to AccuWeather.com
TODAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
Sunny and
delightful
Mostly sunny and
very warm
Cooler with plenty
of sun
Plenty of sunshine
Mostly sunny
moons are inarguably super.
The April 26 full moon will
come within 222,064 miles
of Earth, and the May 26 full
moon will be the closest of
the year at 222,023 miles,
according to timeanddate.
com.
The April full moon is
often called a “pink” moon,
not because it will be pink,
Student-led program fi ghts food
insecurity among college students
East Oregonian
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
75° 42°
81° 39°
63° 34°
69° 41°
68° 35°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
81° 39°
85° 43°
68° 33°
75° 44°
74° 38°
OREGON FORECAST
ALMANAC
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Seattle
Olympia
79/46
69/42
79/44
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
74/49
Lewiston
87/42
83/40
Astoria
77/46
Pullman
Yakima 84/41
83/42
75/44
Portland
Hermiston
86/50
The Dalles 81/39
Salem
Corvallis
84/47
Yesterday
Normals
Records
La Grande
69/38
PRECIPITATION
John Day
Eugene
Bend
86/45
74/40
70/39
Ontario
72/37
Caldwell
Burns
75°
33°
65°
39°
88° (1936) 26° (2013)
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
Albany
84/47
Boardman
Pendleton
Medford
88/48
0.00"
Trace
0.41"
1.20"
0.48"
3.52"
WINDS (in mph)
69/33
67/29
0.00"
Trace
0.66"
3.34"
4.98"
4.62"
through 3 p.m. yest.
HIGH
LOW
TEMP.
Pendleton 66/35
84/46
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
HERMISTON
Enterprise
75/42
83/44
70°
37°
62°
39°
88° (1923) 24° (2013)
PRECIPITATION
Moses
Lake
83/42
Aberdeen
71/46
78/50
Tacoma
Yesterday
Normals
Records
Spokane
Wenatchee
83/50
Today
Sun.
ENE 3-6
NNW 4-8
WSW 4-8
W 7-14
LA GRANDE — The
“starving college student”
is an image that lived too
strongly in the mind of polit-
ical science major Keegan
Sanchez, so he worked to
change the stigma.
Upon returning to college
from military training for
his junior year, Associ-
ated Students of Eastern
Oregon University President
Sanchez found himself in
need of food swipes at EOU.
He was fi nancially unable to
purchase swipes and real-
ized that he had become one
of the many college students
who struggles to afford
food while completing their
post-secondary education.
Refusing to believe that
he was the only one in the
area facing this problem, he
worked with ASEOU and
Sodexo to bring the Swipe
SUN AND MOON
Klamath Falls
68/30
Forecasts and graphics provided by AccuWeather, Inc. ©2021
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
6:06 a.m.
7:44 p.m.
9:11 a.m.
12:37 a.m.
Full
Last
New
NATIONAL EXTREMES
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 99° in Zapata, Texas Low 7° in Dakota Hill, Colo.
Apr 19
Apr 26
May 3
May 11
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
but because it corresponds
with certain early-blooming
fl owers in spring, according
to the Old Farmer’s Alma-
nac. The full moon will rise
at 7:57 p.m. on April 26 in
Portland, and those hoping
to get a good photo will want
to catch it as it just begins to
rise over the southeast hori-
zon, when it will appear even
larger due to the “moon illu-
sion” eff ect.
The May full moon,
which is sometimes called
a “fl ower” moon due to the
abundance of spring fl ow-
ers, will also take place
during a total lunar eclipse,
according to NASA, in what
is perhaps the most antic-
ipated astronomical event
of the year. Those awake in
the wee hours of the morn-
ing of May 26 will be able
to see the eclipse begin at
1:47 a.m., reaching totality
around 4:11 a.m.
Some may consider the
March 29 and June 24 full
moons to be supermoons,
since both come within
224,000 miles of Earth, but
Nolle’s charts don’t include
them. His charts do, however,
include the Nov. 4 and Dec.
4 new moons, which occur
during the moon’s closest
perigee all year, though,
again, the new moon is prac-
tically impossible to see at
night.
Regardless of how you
defi ne a supermoon, the full
moons this spring truly will
be a sight to behold, shining
just brighter in the night. And
while the increased size is
small enough to be impercep-
tible to many, a supermoon is
always a good excuse to go
outside and appreciate the
beauty of the night sky.
Out Hunger program to
EOU and provide support
for many of the students who
found themselves in similar
situations.
“We’ve created a swipe
bank, in which Sodexo
will donate one swipe per
mandatory meal swipe on
campus to populate the bank
initially,” Sanchez said.
Working with ASEOU,
Sanchez and other commit-
tee members plan to hold
events for the further collec-
tion of swipes. Noticing that
many students had unused
meal swipes when the terms
ended, Sanchez found a way
to utilize all swipes, so none
went to waste.
“We will host swipe
drives where we’ll ask
students with meal plans
to donate up to 10 swipes a
term,” said Sanchez. “Then,
we will use those meal
swipes we collect and give
them out to students who
are facing food insecurity so
they have something to eat.”
He also felt it was import-
ant to include that all students
are welcome to apply. As the
case manager, it is his duty
to see all of the students who
apply. Upon fi rst application,
it is a no-questions-asked
policy. Although Sanchez is
aware that he will be unable
to feed a student for a full
term, he hopes he will be
able to help those who need
it most.
“It’s no questions asked.
The first time you apply,
I’m not even going to think
twice, I’m just going to click
approve and put your infor-
mation down. Once you start
requesting more, we’ll start
requesting more informa-
tion and providing additional
resources. I don’t see a situa-
tion where I’ll ever say no to
a student,” he said.
IN BRIEF
Ladd Marsh Bird Festival to
take fl ight again
LA GRANDE — A popular bird watch-
ing event, which the COVID-19 pandemic
grounded in 2020, takes fl ight again at the
Ladd Marsh Wildlife Area.
The annual Ladd Marsh Bird Festival
returns May 15-16. The event, which has
drawn an average of 300 participants in
recent years, will be a scaled down version of
those in the past to allow for COVID-19 social
distancing rules to be followed.
“It will not be traditional,” said the Oregon
Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Kyle
Martin, manager of the Ladd Marsh Wild-
life Area.
Past festivals included meals, fi eld trips
and presentations from experts. All of that
will be missing this year, but there still is
plenty to off er for birders. Much of Ladd
Marsh again will be open to the public during
the two-day event, giving bird watchers the
opportunity to see some of the more than 200
species of birds that live at Ladd Marsh year-
round, nest there or make migration stops
annually.
Everyone coming to the event on May 15
must check in at Ladd Marsh’s Tule Lake
Access Area along Peach Road between
between 6 a.m. and noon. Volunteers at the
access area will greet bird watchers and
provide directions for reaching stations where
experienced birders will be present to provide
advice and help participants identify birds.
Additional information about the Ladd
Marsh Bird Festival is available at the Friends
of Ladd Marsh website, www.friendso-
fl addmarsh.org.
— EO Media Group
CORRECTIONS: The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely
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Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
-10s
-0s
0s
showers t-storms
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
snow
40s
ice
50s
60s
cold front
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