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A Super Worm Moon will appear on Sunday making our lunar satellite look even bigger

This weekend the first supermoon of the year will be visible, named the Worm Moon, reaching its biggest and brightest in the night sky on Sunday. The Worm Moon is named for the earthworms that begin to appear in March, when the soil begins to warm up, bringing robins and other birds for the start of spring. It won’t be as spectacular in the UK as it could be as forecasts for the weekend point to cloudy skies, that will obscure the magnitude of Earth’s natural satellite. The clocks change to British Summer Time, moving an hour ahead on Sunday morning, with the moon first rising above the horizon at 19:06 BST, and the point it will appear largest will be 19:48 BST. It should appear full through until Tuesday morning, according to NASA. The best time to photograph the Moon is at it rises. When the Moon is low on the horizon the atmosphere makes it appear even larger, astronomers suggest. This shows the first Supermoon of 2020 as it rises above Tenerife’s Teide National Park. The Worm Moon can be viewed from Sunday Evening through to Tuesday morning The near full supermoon sets over London. Also know as the Worm Moon, taken in 2020 What is a supermoon? A ‘supermoon’ appears to us as a larger-than-usual Moon in our night sky. A supermoon takes place when the moon is full and its orbit at its perigee point is closest to Earth. As the moon orbits in an ellipse its closest point – the perigee – will come very close to earth. The farthest point of the ellipse is called the apogee. When a full moon appears at perigee, the moon looks brighter and larger than a regular moon, hence the nickname supermoon. A supermoon occurs when the full moon nearly coincides with perigee – the point in the orbit of the moon at which it is nearest to the Earth. At perigee a supermoon can appear as much as 14 per cent larger and 30 per cent brighter than normal, when viewed from Earth, depending on the time of year. Full moon names were historically used to track the seasons by various Native American tribes, and therefore are closely related to nature. If possible, the best time to view the full moon is when it is close to the horizon, due to an optical illusion that makes it appear bigger due to its relative size compared to buildings, trees and other objects in the foreground. Astronomers advise photographers to download apps and maps to track the progress of the moon across the sky, in order to make sightings easier. Dr Daniel Brown, an astronomy expert at Nottingham Trent University said supermoons often encourage people to go out and take their first steps in astrophotography thinking the moon will be much larger than normal. ‘However, in reality supermoons are never huge at all so don’t get fooled in thinking that you can see it being larger than usual,’ he said. ‘The so-called “moon illusion” will make the moon appear much larger than it really is, when it is close to the horizon, but that happens for any full moon or moon phase you observe,’ he said,’ adding ‘go out there and enjoy spotting the moon.’ Different publications use slightly different thresholds for deciding when a full moon is close enough to the Earth to qualify as a supermoon. For example, this year March is only ‘borderline’ a supermoon, with moons in April, May and June being much closer to the Sun than this month’s full moon. ‘The full Moons in April and May are nearly tied as the closest full Moons of the year,’ NASA explained in a blog post. ‘The full Moon on May 26, 2021, will be slightly closer to the Earth than the full Moon on April 26, 2021, but only by a slim 0.04%!’ The moon at 99.0 per cent rises behind One World Trade Center and the skyline of lower Manhattan in New York City at sunset on March 8, 2020 A Sunday evening almost full moon at 97.6 per cent, as it sets behind the Statue of Liberty in New York City The moon at 99% rises behind One World Trade Center and the skyline of lower Manhattan in New York City at sunset on March 8, 2020 UPCOMING STARGAZING EVENTS April 12: New Moon – take advantage of a dark night sky to see the planets April 22 & 23: Lyrid Meteor Shower – this show of meteors will reach its annual peak April 27: Pink Full Moon – will be a Super Moon this year and 30% brighter than usual March – April: Constellation of Orion visible in the night sky Lockdown lethargy has seen people look to the stars for inspiration, with many taking up astrophotography as a new hobby, and with nothing more than a smartphone it is possible to capture stunning images of the moon. Wex Photo Video, an online photography service, said they saw a 260 per cent increase in traffic to their astronomy section since the start of lockdown in 2020. While the Super Worm Moon will provide a good opportunity to photograph our natural satellite, experts predict the April and June moons will be more impressive. Some regard the April moon not the March moon, as the first supermoon of 2021, including Chris Grimmer, an astrophotographer for Wex. ‘April’s Full Moon is traditionally known as the Pink Full Moon. This year, it’s also a Super Moon, so it will look a little larger than a usual Full Moon,’ he explained. ‘This Supermoon brings the Moon to approx. 223,000 km from earth, roughly 35,000 kms closer than at Apogee. This results in it appearing 30% brighter than normal,’ which is the upper end of how much brighter it can get. Before technology, the moon could be used in this way to estimate time of month/year as a lunar cycle almost mirrors our monthly cycle. ‘The >>Read more
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A 17-year-old boy died by suicide hours after being scammed

The FBI says it’s part of a troubling increase in ‘sextortion’ cases Ryan Last received a message on a school night in February from someone he believed to be a girl. Within hours, the 17-year-old, straight-A student and Boy Scout had died by suicide. “Somebody reached out to him pretending to be a girl, and they started a conversation,” his mother, Pauline Stuart, told CNN, fighting back tears as she described what happened to her son days after she and Ryan had finished visiting several colleges he was considering attending after graduating high school. The online conversation quickly grew intimate, and then turned criminal. The scammer — posing as a young girl — sent Ryan a nude photo and then asked Ryan to share an explicit image of himself in return. Immediately after Ryan shared an intimate photo of his own, the cybercriminal demanded $5,000, threatening to make the photo public and send it to Ryan’s family and friends. The San Jose, California, the teen told the cybercriminal he could not pay the full amount, and the demand was ultimately lowered to a fraction of the original figure — $150. But after paying the scammers from his college savings, Stuart said, “They kept demanding more and more and putting lots of continued pressure on him.” At the time, Stuart knew none of what her son was experiencing. She learned the details after law enforcement investigators reconstructed the events leading up to his death. She had said goodnight to Ryan at 10 p.m. and described him as her usually a happy son. By 2 a.m., he had been scammed and taken his life. Ryan left behind a suicide note describing how embarrassed he was for himself and the family. “He really, truly thought in that time that there wasn’t a way to get by if those pictures were actually posted online,” Pauline said. “His note showed he was absolutely terrified. No child should have to be that scared.” Law enforcement calls the scam “sextortion,” and investigators have seen an explosion in complaints from victims leading the FBI to ramp up a campaign to warn parents from coast to coast. The bureau says there were over 18,000 sextortion-related complaints in 2021, with losses in excess of $13 million. The FBI says the use of child pornography by criminals to lure suspects also constitutes a serious crime. The investigation into Last’s case is ongoing, Stuart and the FBI tell CNN. “To be a criminal that specifically targets children — it’s one of the deeper violations of trust I think in society,” says FBI Supervisory Special Agent Dan Costin, who leads a team of investigators working to counter crimes against children. According to Costin, many of the sextortion scams reported to the FBI are determined to be from criminals on the African continent and in Southeast Asia. Federal investigators are working with their law enforcement counterparts around the world, Costin said, to help identify and arrest perpetrators who are targeting kids online. One challenge for the FBI: many victims of sextortion do not report the incidents to law enforcement. “The embarrassment piece of this is probably one of the bigger hurdles that the victims have to overcome,” said Costin. “It can be a lot, especially at that moment.” But investigators urge victims to quickly contact law enforcement, either online or at their local FBI field office. Medical experts say there’s a key reason why young males are especially vulnerable to sextortion-related scams. “Teen brains are still developing,” said Dr. Scott Hadland, chief of adolescent medicine at Mass General in Boston. “So when something catastrophic happens, like a personal picture is released to people online, it’s hard for them to look past that moment and understand that in the big scheme of things they’ll be able to get through this.” Hadland said there are steps parents can take to help safeguard their kids from online harm. “The most important thing that a parent should do with their teen is trying to understand what they’re doing online,” she said. “You want to know when they’re going online, who they’re interacting with, what platforms they’re using. Are they being approached by people that they don’t know, are they experiencing pressure to share information or photos?” Hadland said it’s also critical that parents specifically warn teens of scams like sextortion, without shaming them. “You want to make it clear that they can talk to you if they have done something, or they feel like they’ve made a mistake,” he said. Ryan’s mom agrees. “You need to talk to your kids because we need to make them aware of it,” Stuart said. Still grieving the loss of her son, she is channeling her family’s pain into action and honoring Ryan by speaking out and telling his story. She hopes that doing so will help save lives. “How could these people look at themselves in the mirror knowing that $150 is more important than a child’s life?” she says. “There’s no other word but ‘evil’ for me that they care much more about money than a child’s life. I don’t want anybody else to go through what we did.” Read more at cnn.com
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Car breakdown safety

If you are in an accident or your car breaks down, safety should be your first concern. Getting out of the car at a busy intersection or on a highway to change a tire or check damage from a fender bender is probably one of the worst things you can do. The Insurance Information Institute recommends the following precautions when your car breaks down: Never get out of the vehicle to make a repair or examine the damage on a busy highway. Get the vehicle to a safe place before getting out. If you’ve been involved in an accident, motion the other driver to pull up to a safe spot ahead. If you can’t drive the vehicle, it may be safer to stay in the vehicle and wait for help or use a cell phone to summon help. Under most circumstances standing outside the vehicle in the flow of traffic is a bad idea. Carry flares or triangles to use to mark your location once you get to the side of the road. Marking your vehicle’s location to give other drivers advance warning can be critical. Remember to put on your hazard lights! In the case of a blowout or a flat tire, move the vehicle to a safer place before attempting a repair—even if it means destroying the wheel getting there. The cost of a tire, rim, or wheel is minor compared to endangering your safety.
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What is covered by standard homeowners insurance?

Understanding the four essential protections provided by your homeowners policy Homeowners + Renters Insurance IN THIS ARTICLE Coverage for the structure of your home Coverage for your personal belongings Liability protection Additional living expenses (ALE) SHARE THIS EN ESPAÑOL DOWNLOAD TO PDF Homeowners coverage provides financial protection against loss due to disasters, theft and accidents. Most standard policies include four essential types of coverage: coverage for the structure of your home; coverage for your personal belongings; liability protection; coverage for additional living expenses Coverage for the structure of your home Your homeowners policy pays to repair or rebuild your home if it is damaged or destroyed by fire, hurricane, hail, lightning or other disasters listed in your policy. Most policies also cover detached structures such as a garage, tool shed or gazebo—generally for about 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have on the structure of the house. A standard policy will not pay for damage caused by a flood, earthquake or routine wear and tear. When purchasing coverage for the structure of your home, remember this simple guideline: Purchase enough coverage to rebuild your home. Coverage for your personal belongings Your furniture, clothes, sports equipment and other personal items are covered if they are stolen or destroyed by fire, hurricane or other insured disasters. The coverage is generally 50 to 70 percent of the insurance you have on the structure of the house. The best way to determine if this is enough coverage is to conduct a home inventory. Personal belongings coverage includes items stored off-premises—this means you are covered anywhere in the world. Some companies limit the amount to 10 percent of the amount of insurance you have for your possessions. You also have up to $500 of coverage for unauthorized use of your credit cards. Expensive items like jewelry, furs, art, collectibles and silverware are covered, but there are usually dollar limits if they are stolen. To insure these items to their full value, purchase a special personal property endorsement or floater and insure the item for its officially appraised value. Trees, plants and shrubs are also covered under standard homeowners insurance—generally for about $500 per item. Trees and plants are not covered for disease, or if they have been poorly maintained. Liability protection Liability covers you against lawsuits for bodily injury or property damage that you or family members cause to other people. It also pays for damage caused by your pets. So, if your son, daughter (or even your dog) accidentally ruins a neighbor’s expensive rug, you are covered. (However, if they destroy your rug, you’re out of luck.) The liability portion of your policy pays for both the cost of defending you in court and any court awards—up to the limit stated in your policy documents. Liability limits generally start at about $100,000, however, it’s a good idea to discuss whether you should purchase a higher level of protection with your insurance professional. If you have significant assets and want more coverage than is available under your homeowners policy, consider purchasing an umbrella or excess liability policy, which provides broader coverage and higher liability limits. Your policy also provides no-fault medical coverage, so if a friend or neighbor is injured in your home, he or she can simply submit medical bills to your insurance company. This way, expenses can be paid without a liability claim being filed against you. It does not, however, pay the medical bills for your own family or your pet. Additional living expenses (ALE) ALE pays the additional costs of living away from home if you cannot live there due to damage from a an insured disaster. It covers hotel bills, restaurant meals and other costs, over and above your usual living expenses, incurred while your home is being rebuilt. Keep in mind that the ALE coverage in your homeowners policy has limits—and some policies include a time limitation. However, these limits are separate from the amount available to rebuild or repair your home. Even if you use up your ALE your insurance company will still pay the full cost of rebuilding your home up to the policy limit. If you rent out part of your house, ALE also covers you for the rent that you would have collected from your tenant if your home had not been destroyed.
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11 incredible places you should travel in 2021

We’re pinning our hopes on this year bringing back travel – and if it does, these are the destinations you should hit up first. The year 2020 was a bad one for lots of reasons, but the near-total shutdown of international travel was certainly one of them. Many countries closed their borders. Constantly changing travel restrictions made planning near-impossible. We weren’t sure how safe it was to fly or stay in a hotel. And in any case, local outbreaks and health measures made travel in many parts of the world feel either risky or… well, just not that fun. We’re hoping that’s all going to change this year. The global vaccine rollout promises to reopen borders, relax rules and soothe at least some of our anxieties. Frankly, you’re probably desperate to get out there again. (We definitely are.) So, assuming things do return to something like normal, there’s just one question: where to travel first? Here are our suggestions: a list of incredible destinations that deserve to feature heavily in your 2021 plans. Maybe you’re looking for a bucket-list trip to really make up for not being able to travel in 2020, or thinking about dipping a toe back into city breaks. Perhaps you’re desperate for adventure and new scenery after being cooped up at home, or just want to get as far away from humans as possible. Whatever you’re after in a great 2021 travel destination, we’ve got you. Just make sure to keep an eye on our regularly updated list of destinations accepting travelers right now, and may the road rise to meet you. 11. Tallinn Relatively speaking, Estonia has had rather few cases of coronavirus, and that’s in no small part thanks to its small but fun-loving capital, Tallinn. In spring 2020, a company called Garage48 set up an initiative called ‘Hack the Crisis’ that brought together more than 800 tech workers to help combat the virus. The government paid serious attention, putting Tallinn’s thriving tech scene on the map. The vibe throughout the city center is pretty Scandinavian – cutting-edge cuisine, a thriving design scene, and craft beer bars on every corner – but with a lot more Soviet architecture and prices that are much more wallet-friendly than you’d ever find in Copenhagen or Helsinki. Hang out in the fast-regenerating harbourside area of Kalamaja, which was named one of the world’s coolest neighborhoods in October 2020. 10. Norway If 2020 was the Year of the Cabin – a time when every city-dweller wanted a country bolthole – then Norway is way ahead of the curve. The Scandinavian country has a huge and longstanding cabin culture, with about half the population having access to a hytte of some kind, and there is plenty for visitors to rent too, with intensely beautiful natural settings a given. If you’re not up for the traditional back-to-basics experience (outdoor toilets, no power, and water from a well) then check out some of the smart new openings dotting the country. From mountaintop ‘birdboxes’ to treehouses peering over fjörds, they’re adding a dose of luxury to the age-old feeling of hyttekos: that sense of wellbeing you only get when you’re tucked up in a cabin, miles away from… well, pretty much anything. 9. Japan With the postponed Tokyo Olympics now set for summer 2021, everyone’s going to be watching Japan this year. But there are loads more to the country than the bright lights of the world’s biggest metropolis. Rural tourism has been on the increase for years, and this year the government’s ‘Go to Travel’ scheme has (albeit not without controversy) aimed to reboot the tourist sector across all 47 prefectures. Barring new spikes, the country is likely to reopen to visitors in time for cherry blossom season. And when it does, your trip should definitely include one of Japan’s national parks – maybe the islands of Setonaikai, or Nikko with its Unesco-listed temples and shrines – where authorities have been setting up idyllic, high-tech ‘workation’ spots for anyone who wants to bring a laptop to paradise. 8. Sète Trips to major cities aren’t likely to bounce back totally in 2021, but we’ve got a feeling that mini-city breaks are going to be huge – all the fun of city life with smaller crowds. And if that’s your vibe, we’d recommend Sète: a small city in the Languedoc region of France, roughly halfway between Marseille and Barcelona. The water-jousting contests, street-side poetry readings, and a thriving population of Occitan speakers make this place feel worlds (and centuries) removed from the rest of the country. Festivals like Fiest’à Sète and Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide usually draw thousands here in summer. But the best reason to hit up this unassuming city in any year is the monstrously good seafood – especially the tielle sétoise, a spicy tomato, and octopus pie. 7. Isles of Scilly Our appetite for rural, lesser-populated spots is set to sail right on into 2021 – and few places in the UK tick those boxes better than the Isles of Scilly. An unspoilt archipelago just off the Cornish coast, the Scillies have a subtropical vibe, down to the islands’ white sandy beaches and bobbing palms. The tiny islands (five lived-on and countless uninhabited) are all connected by local boat routes, though a few times a year you can walk between Tresco and Bryer, when a festival takes place on the briefly exposed seabed at low tide. Wild swimming, wildlife-spotting hikes and dark skies are big draws – the Scillies’ first Dark Skies Week will now take place in 2021. They’ve also never been so accessible thanks to a new helicopter route from Penzance on the mainland, which launched this year when no one was really able to take advantage of it. 6. Tulsa The coolest park in the United States isn’t in New York or San Francisco – it’s tucked away in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Since 2018, the 100-acre Gathering Place has been wowing visitors with a three-acre lake, multiple playgrounds that >>Read more
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