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Ben-Attia, M., Reinberg, A., Smolensky, M. H., Gadacha, W., Khedaier, A., Sani, M., et al. (2016). Blooming rhythms of cactus Cereus peruvianus with nocturnal peak at full moon during seasons of prolonged daytime photoperiod. Chronobiol Int, 33(4), 419–430.
Abstract: Cereus peruvianus (Peruvian apple cactus) is a large erect and thorny succulent cactus characterized by column-like (cereus [L]: column), that is, candle-shaped, appendages. For three successive years (1100 days), between early April and late November, we studied the flowering patterns of eight cacti growing in public gardens and rural areas of north and central Tunisia, far from nighttime artificial illumination, in relation to natural environmental light, temperature, relative humidity and precipitation parameters. Flower blooming was assessed nightly between 23:00 h and until at least 02:00 h, and additionally around-the-clock at ~1 h intervals for 30 consecutive days during the late summer of each year of study to quantify both nyctohemeral (day-night) and lunar patterns. During the summer months of prolonged daytime photoperiod, flower blooming of C. peruvianus exhibited predictable-in-time variation as “waves” with average period of 29.5 days synchronized by the light of the full moon. The large-sized flower (~16 cm diameter) opens almost exclusively at night, between sunset and sunrise, as a 24 h rhythm during a specific 3-4-day span of the lunar cycle (full moon), with a strong correlation between moon phase and number and proportion of flowers in bloom (ranging from r = +0.59 to +0.91). Black, blue and red cotton sheets were used to filter specific spectral bands of nighttime moonlight from illuminating randomly selected plant appendages as a means to test the hypothesis of a “gating” 24 h rhythm phenomenon of photoreceptors at the bud level. Relative to control conditions (no light filtering), black sheet covering inhibited flower bud induction by 87.5%, red sheet covering by 46.6% and blue sheet covering by 34%, and the respective inhibiting effects on number of flowers in bloom were essentially 100%, ~81% and ~44%. C. peruvianus is a unique example of a terrestrial plant that exhibits a circadian flowering rhythm (peak ~00:00 h) “gated” by 24 h, lunar 29.5-day (bright light of full moon) and annual 365.25-day (prolonged summertime day length) environmental photoperiod cycles.
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Brown, D. R. (1952). Natural illumination charts. Research and Development Project NS 714-100, .
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Bullrich, K. (1948). Die Leuchtdichte des Himmels und die Globalbeleuchtungsstäke während der Dämmerung und in der Nacht. Bad Kissingen.
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Chaput, J. - P., Weippert, M., LeBlanc, A. G., Hjorth, M. F., Michaelsen, K. F., Katzmarzyk, P. T., et al. (2016). Are Children Like Werewolves? Full Moon and Its Association with Sleep and Activity Behaviors in an International Sample of Children. Front Pediatr, 4, 24.
Abstract: In order to verify if the full moon is associated with sleep and activity behaviors, we used a 12-country study providing 33,710 24-h accelerometer recordings of sleep and activity. The present observational, cross-sectional study included 5812 children ages 9-11 years from study sites that represented all inhabited continents and wide ranges of human development (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, India, Kenya, Portugal, South Africa, United Kingdom, and United States). Three moon phases were used in this analysis: full moon (+/-4 days; reference), half moon (+/-5-9 days), and new moon (+/-10-14 days) from nearest full moon. Nocturnal sleep duration, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), light-intensity physical activity (LPA), and total sedentary time (SED) were monitored over seven consecutive days using a waist-worn accelerometer worn 24 h a day. Only sleep duration was found to significantly differ between moon phases (~5 min/night shorter during full moon compared to new moon). Differences in MVPA, LPA, and SED between moon phases were negligible and non-significant (<2 min/day difference). There was no difference in the associations between study sites. In conclusion, sleep duration was 1% shorter at full moon compared to new moon, while activity behaviors were not significantly associated with the lunar cycle in this global sample of children. Whether this seemingly minimal difference is clinically meaningful is questionable.
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Ciocca, M., & Wang, J. (2013). By the light of the silvery Moon: fact and fiction. Phys. Educ., 48(3), 360–367.
Abstract: Is moonlight 'silver' or 'cold'? In this paper we discuss the interesting combination of factors that contribute to the common descriptions of moonlight. Sunlight is reflected from the lunar surface and red-shifted. When traversing the atmosphere, moonlight is further depleted of short wavelength content by Rayleigh scattering. We measured the spectra of the moonlight to show these effects and compared them with sunlight. All measurements, including spectral reflectance, suggest that moonlight is redder than sunlight. The silvery Moon is just an illusion due to the properties and behaviour of our own eyes, including the responses of rods and cones and the physiological perceptive phenomenon called Purkinje shift.
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