Tides will run higher and lower than normal this weekend and well into next week and it is tied mostly to two astronomical events. The moon is full on Monday, and it will be especially close, in perigee, on Sunday.

The gravitational pull of both the moon and sun create our tides. When the moon is particularly close, tidal pull is more extreme so tides run higher and lower than normal.

We had the same thing happen only a month ago, but slightly more extreme. Last month full moon and perigee were on the same day.

The moon is close but not the closest of the year at 222,702 miles away.    

It is difficult to note the difference in size between a full moon at perigee and a full moon at apogee. Tidal changes are far more noticeable.

Jupiter and Mars

For early risers, there is a pretty scene low in the southeastern sky a half hour before sunrise. Two planets, Mars and Jupiter, appear as a close pair next week. Jupiter is the brighter of the two. Mars is the faint red planet next door.