Perigee Supermoon

May 7, 2012 in Medicine Bow National Forest, Night

“Three things cannot be long hidden:
the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
- The Buddha Siddharta

The perigee super moon was on Saturday, and people in all places turned their heads to the sky and paid just a little bit more attention to our own moon that night. The moon looked bigger than normal, in fact, the biggest of the entire year. NASA put together a very informational video about what this celestial event is. Take a couple minutes and watch the video below and you might learn something new!

I drove out into the Laramie Mountains to watch the perigee moon rise, but unfortunately it was cloudy in south east Wyoming. By the time the moon peeked above the clouds it was already far above the horizon and looked much smaller.

Although the moon was obstructed by clouds, it was still beautiful and I turned to the west and watched Venus start to set instead.

Sometimes it takes a little hype over a celestial event to drag people — including myself — out of our warm homes and electric powered lives and into the night to slow things down and take the time to simply watch our sun set and our moon rise. Nonetheless it was nice to take the Jeep and my dog miles into the hills on rocky dirt roads to watch the moonlight take over the night.

“For my part I know nothing with any certainty,
but the sight of the stars makes me dream.”

-Vincent Van Gogh

More Images of the Night

  • 2011-12-10 Lunar Eclipse Composite.jpg
  • The Glow of Laramie, Wyoming Underneath Jupiter
  • Moon Bow from Laramie, WY

View photos at SmugMug



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Geminid Meteor Shower

December 14, 2011 in Medicine Bow National Forest, Night, Wyoming

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/13dec_geminids/

The Geminid meteor shower peaks tonight. Make sure to take some time and be patient and you might see some meteors or fireballs despite the full moon. Look to the upper left of Orion to find the Gemini constellation. You can even get the app MeteorCounter and collect some data for NASA!

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Lunar Eclipse

December 10, 2011 in Night, Wyoming

I realize now that what I could have done better, like not stop and put on another layer so that I could have had a regular spacing of the progression of the moon, but I’m overall pretty satisfied for a first try at a photo like this… and even without any coffee!

The eclipse was spectacular! As the moon became more red and dim, the pre-dawn light eventually hid the moon as it sunk down into the west. Once the blood red moon was no longer visible, the first glowing rays of light hit the mountains and set the Laramie plain aglow. This was an excellent way to start the day!

How everyone else had a good experience if you were lucky enough to witness this event!

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