Moon over us

The “Super Blue Moon” has been a popular thing around the world, it seems, including here in New Zealand. The thing is, to really appreciate the apparent size of the moon, it really has to be near the horizon with something to compare it to. Otherwise, it just looks like the moon. Last night, I finally had a chance to take a photo of the moon (above) that was relevant to me.

I actually didn’t know about the moon thing until Thursday when the news suddenly started making a big deal out of it, and whether/where it would be possible to see it in New Zealand. However, Wednesday night—actually, Thursday morning—at around 4:30am, Leo decided he wanted to go outside. Not entirely awake, I thought to myself, “why is it so light outside at this time?” I looked up and saw the moon, and I realised it looked a little larger than usual, but I didn’t take a photo of it because it was high in the sky, with nothing to compare it to. Also, I’d left my phone in the bedroom, and I wasn’t into going to get it.

The next night, Thursday, the moon was still high in the sky, and it didn’t reach anything to compare it to before I went to bed—which figures, since the night before at 4:30am it still wasn’t low enough to provide comparison. This made me feel like I wouldn’t get an opportunity to take a photo of this super-duper moon—until last night.

Yesterday evening, I got together with some of the family for dinner, and as I drove my mother-in-law home, I could see the moon just above some trees on the horizon, and it looked huge. On my way home, I stopped at a supermarket to pick up a few things, and though I looked up, I didn’t see a good photo—the moon was too high.

When I got home, I looked up, but, again, there was nothing to photograph. After I fed Leo, I went outside on the patio and looked up, but the moon was on the other side of the house—still nothing, but, I had a hunch that it would be hovering over the solar panels on my roof, and the photo above is what I finally saw—at 11:40pm. I was glad that I didn’t have to get up at 4:30am; taking the photo meant Leo followed me outside and made sure a late-night trip outside wouldn't be necessary..

When I posted shared this photo to social media (well, just Instagram, Facebook, and Threads—I haven’t shared anything to Twitter in years), I said:

The moon just now, shining down on my solar panels at night, and no, it wasn’t generating any power. It was just pretty. I saw the moon earlier this evening when it was closer to the horizon, and it looked big, and while I know it does in this photo, too, no one else would know that. Perspective is everything.

I didn’t say so, but I checked to make sure my solar panels weren’t making any electricity, even though I knew they wouldn’t be, because I just wanted to make sure it was true. Which I guess just goes to show it’s not very difficult to check a simple fact rather than assuming it’s true—or maybe it says more about me. In any case, it was a nice photo in the end, even if most people would never know the moon appeared to be larger than usual. I was happy with the photo, which was my real goal. As usual.

So, I finally got my photo of the super-duper moon, and can stop looking for a good opportunity. This is a good thing: We’re supposed to have cloudy skies (and often rain) over the next week. Winter is clearly not done yet. But, then, either is my sharing of photos. I’ll just have to wait and see what develops. So to speak.