The Big Moon

No rain but the clouds covered it up. Bastard clouds!

Clear skies last night (first time in several weeks) gave a spectacular view of the rising moon. Magnificent!

Well I'm just glad the darn thing into crash into the earth.

We live in a city, so we don't have a clear view to the horizon. Nevertheless, when the moon rose, there was the effect of refraction still working on it as it cleared the houses down the street. It was very cool. I howled.

Too cloudy where I am, too.
But some saw it! This is further north of the continent.:



'Supermoon' over Newcastle:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-05-07/the-supermoon-rises-over-newcastle/3994664

Too cloudy here, couldn't see it at all.

I did see the last super moon which was this big and close to earth in 1993, and, because I hadn't heard any publicity about it beforehand, I was totally unprepared for the jaw-dropping spectacular sight that came into view when I was driving home from work one night just as it was starting to get really dark. I turned a corner and, straight in front of me, just over the horizon, was the most enormous, but enormous, golden moon I had ever seen in my life. I just gasped and couldn't take my eyes off it--it's a wonder I didn't wrap my car around a tree. It looked unreal.

I don't remember anyone talking about it on the news the next day either, and it wasn't until this week that I finally understood what I saw that night. It was a sight I've never forgotten.

Almost like daylight in the D.C. area around 10:45 PM.

This is what it looked like in Melbourne when I went outside to look last night.
A mere glimpse of the moon through the clouds.


Reader Ockert le Roux took this photo of the "supermoon" over Melbourne's South Wharf about 7.45pm on Saturday when the clouds parted briefly. Photo: Ockert le Roux

Nowhere near as exciting as this, in St Petersburg!
Wow!


'Super moon' rising
The full moon rises behind statues of angels fixed at the St Isaak's Cathedral in St Petersburg, Russia. Photo: AP

So, naturally, the local press pooh-poohed the whole thing!
Big Moon?
So what?
See if we care!

Over the moon? It wasn't so super anyhow:
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/over-the-moon-it-wasnt-so-super-anyhow-20120507-1y84m.html

Can't see it here tonight, too cloudy. But it was spectacular last night.

Supermoon Over Paris
Image Credit & Copyright: VegaStar Carpentier

Explanation: Did you see that full Moon Saturday night? Dubbed a supermoon, the latest fully illuminated moon appeared slightly larger than usual because it occurred unusually near the closest point in its orbit to Earth. Pictured above, the supermoon was captured Saturday night rising behind the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. Of course, the angular extent of the moon in comparison to foreground objects can be adjusted just by changing the observer's distance to the foreground object. When compared to nearby objects the moon may appear tiny, but when compared to distant objects -- the moon may appear huge. Next month yet another full moon is expected, this one appearing about one percent smaller.

PHOTO:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vegastarcarpentier/7146552595/in/photostream/

Oh, thanks for that notice, RP, I hadn't heard about it.

I hope the sky will be clear, I'm looking forward to seeing it. The last one I saw, in 1993, was so spectacular I will never forget it.

I found an article about this year's super moon.
http://earthsky.org/tonight/is-biggest-and-closest-full-moon-on-june-23-2013-a-supermoon

Thanks R.P.
Hoping it's a clear night sky for top viewing.

Tonight's the night, folks.



Just a reminder.

Went outside and saw a big BRIGHT moon. Lovely.

I gotta say I don't see much difference.

but I get a big bright moon and stars all the time.

no city lights to interfere...

I've always been amazed by seeing all the stars when I'm really out in the country and away from any other lights. It is awesome. You're lucky to have that view all the time, Rocky.

Last night, the moon here only looked a little larger, but it was most definitely much brighter. I think, had I seen it closer to the horizon, it might have appeared much larger than normal. That was the view I unexpected got in 1993, and it was jaw-dropping. Last night, it was pretty much directly overhead when I was outside.