Thursday, December 18, 2008

SKYWATCH FRIDAY – Moon at Perigee (North Shore, Lake Erie)


Last Friday (Dec. 12th) I caught the rising nearly-full moon just before it disappeared behind clouds. The moon was at its closest point to earth (perigee) of the year. Not only that, this was its closest perigee to the earth in the last 15 years, making the moon appear 14 times bigger and 30% brighter than usual, according to my local weather station. Too bad it happened in my neck of the woods on such a chilly night – there are no streetlights along my road, and to have such a bright moon lighting the way would have made for a very nice stroll in better weather.

I took this from the front porch. It's a little too dark, but it was just too cold to linger outside for a better shot. If you click to enlarge, it's easier to make out the ghostly edge of the garage, the honey locust tree. Above, the moon is negotiating its way through the power lines, and below, the moonlit road beckons. It turned out to be my only chance to see this special moon, since the clouds brought winter rain that stayed with us for several days.


To view more skies from around the world, or to join in, visit SKYWATCH. It’s fun, it’s easy – who doesn’t have some sky overhead!

37 comments:

Dianne said...

this is such a cool photo

I love the moon glowing on everything - very beautiful

bobbie said...

Wasn't this the most wondrous sight? Your photo is marvelous. Mine were not. I'm glad you found this opportunity for a shot before the clouds hid it away.

HorribleLicensePlates said...

Beautiful photo. Makes me want to break out in song; "Soooomewhere ooooout there; Beeeneath the pale moooonlight.."

George said...

What a neat photo. I also tried to get a good picture that night.

edward said...

i clicked

it is very romantic this image, and the lines make it interesting too. i like that the moon is so big all else is the mystery, and not the moon, which tries to illuminate it all.

Great Grandma Lin said...

I thought about going out to see the moon the other night when it was full. you were the brave one-thanks for sharing.

Aleta said...

I remember reading that the full moon would be the biggest and brightest in a long time. How many people do you imagine were looking up that night? But few would have the artist sense to take such a beautiful picture!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

What a gorgeous moon picture, Deborah. This is my first visit to your blog and I am enjoying it.
Thanks,
Betsy

Quiet Paths said...

I simply love moon shots. This is almost Avant in its composition, Deb. You braved the cold for the moon; great job.

Gill - That British Woman said...

I did click on the photo and it is lovely.

Gill in Southern Ontario....

the7msn said...

Very ghostly. I have no patience for standing out in the cold and wind and darkness. Think I'll wait to take my full moon shots in the summer.

Dewdrop said...

I missed it... I was getting ready for a party and didn't have an eastern view at the time. Gtb and his kids saw it... they were driving east coming to our neck of the woods and turned a corner to see the moon giving the appearance of filling the entire horizon. They were blown away by it...

... and yes, thunderheads works for me. :O)

Sylvia K said...

Absolutely, wondrously perfect! Mystery and beauty all rolled into one. Doesn't get any better! Thank you so much for all the beauty you add to our blogging world!

George Townboy said...

Wow - awesome shot!

EG CameraGirl said...

Very good catch, Deborah. I missed it, totally. Glad to see someone was paying attention and got this shot!

Photo Cache said...

The composition is very interesting. The moon is soo beautiful.

Kim said...

Awesome picture. When I first saw it I literally said Wow!!! I have never seen the sky portraid to me like that. Thanks!

Kat Mortensen said...

That's a pretty eerie sight. It reminds me of the movie "Dead of Winter" with Roddy McDowell and Mary Steenburgen (I think).
It's still beautiful though.

Kat

Unknown said...

It has been fun and big and bright to look at. I had just thought my eyes were getting better. Don't even need binoculars.

DrowseyMonkey-Photos said...

Oooh, spooky. We're on the same wave length this week with our photos. Very nice!

Indrani said...

Good you captured it.The moon was the biggest that day.
Happy Christmas to you!
Thank you very much for the lovely comments at my posts.

Arija said...

A wonderful capture, partcularly sitting on top of the snow crested hill.

hitch writer said...

That is a fantastic picture....

It seems the path for Santa to sleigh in is ready.... doesnt it ?????

Pearl Maple said...

Well done! night photos are tricky but yours looks great with all kinds of thing going on. Thanks for sharing with Sky Watch Friday.

magiceye said...

wow! sure looks huge!

Naturegirl said...

Deborah I giggle as I read that you did NOT want to linger outside because you were too cold..That was me today as I took my SWF photos..gloves off fingers froze!! What we do for these photos!!
Good moon image here..I've NOT mastered night images yet!

Rune Eide said...

a "cool" moon indeed.

angela said...

Thanks for the info. it would explain why it was light enough to read a book outside that night.
Great capture of the moon..

vincibene said...

Magical picture! Wonderful!

Mary said...

I'm so upset that I missed that gorgeous moon. I was in the car WITHOUT MY CAMERA! :( Your shot is beautiful. Happy SWF. :)

me ann my camera said...

I am glad you mentioned your garage for I was thinking the prow of a ship maybe :-) I wish I had noted it for I remember one middle of the night recently when the moon was so very beautiful and the village was so quiet when I had woken and looked out the window.

Rose said...

I like the shot...I know what you mean about the cold. It doesn't take much cold to get to me. I tell my husband that my internal thermostat is not working any more.

Vic said...

nice! love the moon shot!

Kelly said...

This is an awesome shot of the moon the other night!! I love the way you captured it's eerie beauty!

Anonymous said...

I like this image. It's mysterious and beautiful.

Shannon said...

This is a great capture of the moon. I wanted to take pics of the moon that night too, but we had thick cloud cover. :(

Anonymous said...

Very nice. Even if cold, at least you had a brief patch of clear sky to take the photo.