“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” ~ Anton Chekhov

Super Moon by Bo Rader of The Wichita Eagle

                   

“Everyone is asleep
There is nothing to come between
The moon and me.” ~ Enomoto Seifu-jo (trans. by Kenneth Rexroth)

Saturday’s Super Moon is a result of this month’s full moon coinciding with the moon’s perigee, or its closest approach to Earth, making it the year’s biggest moon. According to the Christian Science Monitor, the moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon . . . not only does the moon’s perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon’s close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com‘s skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon’s orbit is not perfectly circular.

This month’s full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon’s farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon.

                   

Of the Surface of Things

I
In my room, the world is beyond my understanding;
But when I walk I see that it consists of three or four
hills and a cloud.

II
From my balcony, I survey the yellow air,
Reading where I have written,
“The spring is like a belle undressing.”

III
The gold tree is blue,
The singer has pulled his cloak over his head.
The moon is in the folds of the cloak.

~ Wallace Stevens 

Related articles

• Heads Up, Skywatchers! Super Moon (jacobmarchio.com)
• Super Moon at Perigee (merlinspielen.com)

Advertisement