|  | 
                      |                                                       | Super effect on us from supermoons? |                              |  |                              | A supermoon's extra pull of gravity creates higher-than-usual tides. But the moon's pull doesn't affect a human body nearly as powerfully as it does an ocean. |                              |  |  | 
                      |                                                       | Why the New Year begins on January 1 |                              |  |                              | Celebrating the New Year on January 1 is a civil event, not an astronomical one. And yet nature cooperates to make January 1 a satisfying time to start anew. |                              |  |  | 
                      |  | 
                      |                                                       | Moonlight for 2018 Quadrantid meteors |                              |  |                              | The 2018 Quadrantid meteor shower is expected to exhibit its narrow peak January 3 around 21-22 hours UTC. The full supermoon nearly coincides, and moonlight will interfere with the shower. |                              |  |  |