Friday the 13th: Today is the first Friday the 13th of two this year; the other is Dec. 13. While it may be a date with a bad reputation, it is far from unusual. According to Earthsky.org, “Any calendar year has at least one Friday the 13th, and can have as many as three Friday the 13ths.” According to the site, the two Friday the 13ths in 2019 are spaced exactly 13 weeks apart.

Interestingly enough, the next Friday the 13th following the one in December is March 13 — 13 weeks from Dec. 13.

With our calendar of 365 days, any month that begins on a Sunday will have a Friday the 13th. If the year begins on a Tuesday, then the months of September and December will each see the 13th fall on a Friday.

Per Earthsky.org, “The first twofold September-December Friday the 13th year in the 21st century (2001 to 2100) occurred in 2002, which is two years after a leap year. Any calendar year happening two years after a leap year will have days and dates matching up again in periods of 11, 17 and 28 years: ex. 2002 + 11 = 2013; 2002 + 17 = 2019 and 2002 + 28 = 2030.

For more Friday the 13th facts, visit https://earthsky.org/.

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Harvest Moon: Not only is Today Friday the 13th, it is a full moon. AND… it is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, or the Harvest Moon.

This is apparently a far-from-common occurrence. It occurs once in every 20 years. The next time this will occur is Aug. 13, 2049.

For East Coast residence, the Harvest Moon will technically make its appearance after midnight — 12:33 a.m. to be precise on Aug. 14. The moon has equal potential to be a Supermoon or a Micromoon. This is because the moon is close to apogee, or the furthest point from the earth at 252,100 miles from our planet.