This Friday the 13th will feature a full moon for the first time since October 2000. This will mark the only such occurrence in June since 1919.
Full moons in June are called the honey moon, or the strawberry moon. Peak of the full moon will take place early in the morning on 13 June, but our planetary companion will still be nearly full when it rises in the evening.
The next full moon, on June 13th, will come in the year 2098, making this a once-in-a-lifetime event for most people alive today. In 2025, there will be two full moons on Friday the 13th - in January and April, according to calculations performed by David Dickinson of Universe Today.
Legend has it the name strawberry moon comes from Native American practices of picking strawberries around this time. At times, a light golden hue is said to come from the full moon in June, providing the origin of the honey moon nickname.
The origin of the myth of bad luck on Friday the 13th is uncertain. Some historians believe that 12 was once considered a perfect number - the number represents the number of signs in the zodiac and apostles under Jesus. Norse legends said that if there were 13 people at a table, one of them would die. Therefore, 13 may have taken on an air of being irregular. This fear of the number 13 is so common, it even has a psychological name - triskaidekaphobia.
Some people are frightened by the idea of a full moon. Those suffering from Selenophobia tend to stay inside, rather than face a night with a full view of our planetary companion.
Paraskavedekatriaphobia is a fear of Friday the 13th, an occurrence which happens between one and three times a year.
That condition affects between 17 and 21 million Americans every year, and the condition costs over $800 million dollars a year in lost productivity due to drivers staying off the roads.
Friday is also considered unlucky by many people in western culture, but again, the causes of the phobia are unclear.
An article published in the British Medical Journal in the 1990's concluded that accidents rose in one area of London around Friday the 13th. However, the Dutch Centre for Insurance Statistics produced a study showed driving on that day was slightly safer than normal.
There may actually be some trouble coming from space after all - a series of three flares from the sun have launched a volley of charged particles toward our home world. Such particles could affect satellites, communications and GPS devices. The particles will begin arriving at Earth on Friday the 13th.
Will Jason Voorhees, star of the Friday the 13th movie series turn into a werewolf, chasing Paraskavedekatriaphobics with selenophobia down the street? Only time will tell.
