Moon and clouds and illusions

Eclipse. A composite.

The distinction between past, present and future is an illusion, but a very persistent one.

~ Albert Einstein

In the beginning, there were clouds.

Did you get to see the Supermoon Harvest Blood Moon last night?  That’s a big name, and I may have mixed things up a little in there.  Neil deGrasse Tyson, one of my science heroes, said “The supermoon is a 16-inch pizza compared with a 15-inch pizza.  It’s a slightly bigger moon; I ain’t using the adjective ‘supermoon.'”  Smart fellow.  I never understood all the hyperbole surrounding a supermoon since I have never noticed much of a difference.  The difference in how the full moon appears to me has more to do with where I’m standing than whether it’s a full moon in perigee (closer to earth) or in apogee (farther away) or somewhere in between.

Sometimes the moon was allowed to peer out at us.

For instance, here at the ranch we cannot see the moon until it comes up over the trees that make up the woods across the road.  A lower horizon, such as at the beach, makes the moon appear larger to me when it first rises into sight than when it’s on the tree horizon.  The moon seems to shrink as it rises in the sky.  I’ve heard, but haven’t witnessed it, that the full moon also appears larger in a city with a lot of skyscrapers.  It’s an illusion.  Even so, it still feels like magic, don’t you think?

The moon was shy.

The weather system that has been bringing us warm, humid, tropical air, along with gusty winds and higher than usual tides, continues to spin around off the coast of the Carolinas.  As a result, we have often been under heavy cloud cover during the past week, but every now and then, it clears out.  We were lucky last night.  The clouds moved in and out providing us with clear glimpses of the moon every now and then, and we were able to watch most of the first half of the eclipse (to totality).  The moon was quite a distance above the treeline before it cleared the clouds on the horizon, and throughout the evening thin clouds would move across the face of the moon, not quite obscuring our view (but making some of my photographs appear soft and blurry).

A nice clear view.

I think I enjoyed the interaction between the moon and clouds almost as much as the eclipse.  Maybe more so since it appeared to be a dance of some kind.  What I found particularly interesting is the way the dark and light beams contrast each other.  During the day when sunbeams shoot out from behind a cloud, you see mostly light.  When the moon was behind the clouds, there were dark and light “beams” spreading out from the cloud.  (You can see what I mean in the photo labelled “In the beginning, there were clouds.”)  It’s the light against the dark sky, of course, causing that illusion of dark beams.

An illusion of light this afternoon.

I enjoy watching the moon in all of her phases, but there is something special about a full moon, a Harvest Moon, and an eclipse all coming together at the same time.  I am so glad the timing was early, too.  I didn’t have to get up in the wee hours of the morning or the middle of the night to see it.

Earth’s shadow approaches the moon.

I like to watch the moon set, too, and thought about running out to the dock early this morning to see it, but laziness and fear of the swarms of mosquitoes in the woods sent me back to bed for a little extra sleep instead.  Over the weekend I used a lovely guided meditation in which the mantra was “I trust,” the idea being to replace fear with trust.  I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust the swarms of mosquitoes in the woods.  (For those interested, the meditation is Transform Fear Into Trust and can be found on davidji’s blog at the link I just provided.  I’m not sure if you need to be registered to access it or not.)

Hiding in the shadow.

We had a grand view of the Milky Way once earth’s shadow covered the moon.  I think my next photo challenge will be to learn more about night photography, and then practice what I learn.  The way I learn, it might end up being the opposite.  I’ll go out with the camera and shoot until I get something I like, and then I’ll read up on it.  I understand it better if I figure it out for myself first.  It’s not always the easiest way to learn, but it works for me.

Slowly moving along.

I haven’t yet looked at other people’s photos of last night’s moon.  I was waiting until I sorted through my own.  It was difficult to wait because I know there are some great images out there.  I’d better wrap this up so I go and see.

Going…

Thanks for dropping in today and having a look at the Big Moon through my lens.  I think we’re going to have a beautiful sunset this evening.  Join me down at the Point if you want to watch it with me.  Sunset is at 6:51 this evening.  Gosh, that seems early, doesn’t it?

going…

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

Almost gone.

Today’s joys:  The sound of the wind playing the wind chimes; the sight of the clouds racing across the sky; the scent of salt sea air; the taste of a crisp, fresh apple; the feel of the soft cotton shirt I’m wearing today (I found a store that sells the softest cotton t-shirts I’ve ever encountered and I love wearing them).

Super duper Harvest Blood Moon.  This is about the time the high, thin clouds moved in and started softening the look of the moon.