P3D Re: What is Rare?

[Brian Reynolds <reynolds@xxxxxxxxx>]

Greg Tank wrote:
> Since for now the "What is Art?" has died down . . .:>)
> 
> Rare? . . . .ponder. . . ponder. . . ponder. . .Rare? . . . .Hummm  . . . .
> OK .... I will start!!!! :>)
> Call me self centered, or just niave, go ahead, I can take it, (not very
> well) but I can take it.
> 
> " If it only happens once in my life time . . . I call it Rare!" :>)
> 

I can agree with once in a life time being rare.  Even events that
require living a long life (e.g., seeing Halley's comet twice) I'd
consider rare.  But this event is not rare.  The full moon occurring
within 24 hours of the Winter Solstice and lunar perigee also happened
in 1991, and 1980.  The increase in brightness of this month's full
moon will not be noticable to the naked eye.

I'm particularly sensitive to this problem (over hyping of
astronomical events) because I run a website for a large metropolitan
astronomy club <URL:http://www.aaa.org/>, and I go to public star
gazing events where we try and educate the public and get them
interested in astronomy.  The amount of hype that led up to Halley's
Comet, and the let down that occurred in 1986, turned a lot of people
off astronomy.  There are plenty of amazing things to see (including
the moon), but over hyping them does no one any good.

-- 
Brian Reynolds                  | "Dee Dee!  Don't touch that button!"
reynolds@xxxxxxxxx              | "Oooh!"
http://www.panix.com/~reynolds  |    -- Dexter and Dee Dee
NAR# 54438                      |       "Dexter's Laboratory"