Full Moon

full moon rising just above the horizon,

big and orange and bright.

ascending above one dark cloud into a clearing

to shine for a moment, then sliding up 

and disappearing behind another.

the moon

the moon is hanging out just over the rooftop of the neighbors house. it's a half moon, yellowish orange.

Lorane highway

The sky is ON FIRE and the rising moon is massive. At first I thought it was a snowy peak behind another mountain. But then it rose a little higher and I realized it was the moon. Huge. It's always bigger on the horizon but this was twice as big as I've ever seen before.

SciAm: Tonight's moon will rival last month's massive bright perigee

Exciting! I knew the moon looked brighter last night!

Remember last month's massive moon, the one that dazzled onlookers on December 12? That moon was 14% larger and 30% brighter than a typical full moon.

Well, it's back tonight. NASA says tonight's moon will be the biggest full moon of 2009, "almost identical" to the one on December 12.

Here's what's going on: The moon's orbit of Earth is an ellipse, with one end closer to Earth than the other. Tonight, the moon will be near the closer end of the ellipse, a spot known as the perigee. (Apogee is the more distant end.)

SciAm.com

I hope it's clear out. Last time it was an amazing night. 

about last night

This one is from today.

Last night was pretty amazing. Three things coming together: full moon - at it's brightest due to it being closest to earth - and first snow. That doesn't happen very often. Perfect conditions.

When I first got up there the moon was so bright that I could turn off my headlights and drive... at night, in the dark, out of the city. So the only light was the moon, big and bright and right overhead. No real clouds, just smoke-like fog, light and fast, moving just over the trees past the moon. And stars, lots of stars. It was very clear out.

There was already a thin layer of snow on the ground and a few flakes were falling. I got out and stood in the cold air stairing up at the moon for a few minutes. As I drove out further the snow clouds moved in. On my way back I drove into the fog and it was like entering another world -snow flakes flying at me, illuminated by the headlights. It makes it seem like you're driving in space with stars flying past you.

that was awesome

Wispy clouds raced past the moon and then the snow started falling.

It was like driving in a snow globe ;-)

The Years Biggest/Brightest Full Moon

Every few years, a full moon coincides with the point in the satellite's elliptical orbit that brings it closest to the center of the Earth. Friday night, the moon will be fully illuminated just four hours after reaching that point, according to a feature story on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Web site.

The moon will appear up to 14 percent larger and 30 percent brighter than "lesser full moons we've seen earlier in 2008," NASA says -- provided it is being viewed in a clear sky.

cnn.com

Venus, Jupiter and the Moon

"...the two brightest planets—Venus and Jupiter—with the waxing crescent Moon joining them on the first evening of December" Article...

This should be interesting. I totally noticed Venus & Jupiter the last couple days but didn't know which planets they were, just that they were very bright.

it's nice out?

Last night I went outside around midnight. I went into the back yard to see the sky.  Everything looked so bright I wanted to see where the moon was.  It was pretty much right overhead, very round and very bright.  There was a thin layer of clouds that you could see the wind was moving them along underneath it at a fairly rapid pace. My socks got soaked though just from standing on the patio.  It wasn't raining then but has been quite a bit lately.

This morning I was surprised when I woke up and the sun was out. I could tell though my drapes which usually are pretty good at making it seem like it's always dark out ;-)

So I went out to the living room and opened the front door to pick up the paper and it was ... warm?  Yep!  I'm not kidding.

It may not stay this way but I have two windows open right now letting the fresh air circulate through the house.

The wind is still pushing the clouds across the sky at a speedy pace. If I still had a hammock I might lie in it and watch them, except it would probably be pretty wet. That is how the ground looks.

brilliant

Yesterday was hot, like 100 degrees, literally. Today was also hot, high of 96, but it wasn't like yesterday. Yesterday it was 90 degrees still at 9pm. Today it was about 80 degrees at the same time.

  

I've been riding my motorcycle to jiu-jitsu lately. I heard someone describe riding on hot days as, "like riding into a hair dryer". Funny but pretty true. Luckily I there's several different sections to my motorcycle jacket and I unzipped the outside layer before I left. So the ride over was actually pretty nice.

  

I had expected the gym to be pretty hot as well but I guess since it was Friday and maybe because of the Fair and maybe because it was HOT, there weren't a lot of people there. In fact there were 5. And all the fans were going so it was actually cooler in there than outside, which is most often not the case. The class was good and I did fairly good rolling with some of the bigger guys.

  

I got off the mat just in time to call back Jason, the tree guy, who'd literally just left a message. So my trees are now scheduled to be put in the ground. Which is very good. I can't wait to get them planted!

  

So I left NWMA and hopped on my bike. I was going to just ride home but then two things happened. First off I was hot and the breeze was nice, really nice when I started riding. Second I noticed the clouds in the sky and thought about the sunset. We've had some really intense colors in the sunset the last couple of days. So I thought, why not, I'll just go for a little cruise on the way home. I turned left instead of right and headed for Willamette.

  

I looped back up Jefferson and then up Charnelton in the College Hill area. You can get some good views up there because you're on a hill and can see out over the city. On the right I could see the sun like a giant orange disc on one side, just about to drop below the hills in the distance. And on the left was the moon!!!! Just as big, rising over the mountains.

  

I kept checking glancing up at the clouds all the way there. I could tell it was going to be a good one. I rode out Willamette, up the hills and out of the city and this is what I saw...

  

Is this insane or what?

  

Not bad for the iPhone right? Sunsets are always better in real life though. It was so amazing I just stopped on the side of the road to watch for a few minutes and snap a few pics. After that I thought it couldn't get any better but it did. The entire ride was amazing, from the moment I left the parking lot.

  

I got back on the bike and followed Willamette to Fox Hollow. Right past "Bill's Bench" I saw two, yes TWO peacocks hanging out on the side of the road. One of them walked a little to get out of the road. The other one flew up in a tree. Seeing peacocks fly up into a tree is so awesome. One of my favorite things I have ever seen.

  

After that I thought the show was probably over. I headed down the twists and turns of McBeth and when I came out of the woods, there was more. More colors! This time pastels. The sky went from yellow to lavendar to blue. I wasn't sure I was seeing it right so I had to lift up the windscreen on the helmet. Then I looked into my rear view mirror and there was the moon hovering boldly in the sky. It was crazy!

  

I caught Lorane Hwy from McBeth and looped back to Chambers. When you're on Lorane you're next to the hills so you can't see the sunset for a few minutes. So again, I thought the show was over. But nope! As soon as I hit chambers I could see it again. The sky glowed orange all the way home! It was like the horizon was on fire. Crazy beautiful.

  

Oh, and I saw several deer too.