Here’s another photo from Pismo Beach, California. Mimi Ditchie captured these Christmas lights on Pismo Pier on the day of the king tide – an especially high spring tide – that followed Sunday’s supermoon. That supermoon was the closest and brightest full moon of 2017; see photos here. Supermoons might not look bigger to the eye (although some say they do look bigger), but they definitely affect earthly tides, and the highest and lowest tides tend to come in the day or so following the full moon. Mimi wrote:
This photo was taken on Monday during the king tide at Pismo Beach, California. The tide was -1.5 near sunset (after being extremely high in the morning) I had to wait until around 5:30 p.m. until it was dark enough for the Christmas tree to be visible. It was then reflected on the wet sand of the low tide.
Deborah Byrd created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. Today, she serves as Editor-in-Chief of this website. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named 3505 Byrd in her honor. In 2020, she won the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society, the largest organization of professional astronomers in North America. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.
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