wednesday morning at 5:37 the moon was hanging out in the lower western sky, 97% full, golden white and playing with the striated clouds surrounding it. it was close enough to the horizon to be distortedly huge, backlighting those clouds with a silver brilliance.
it was almost enough to make me stop my bike and stare.
but not quite.
I just kept my head turned to the west as I headed south, checking back frequently with the shadowed road in front of my wheel, praying for no unexpected debris in the bike lane. it was stunning, a vision I can still conjure up in my full color imagination at will.
thursday morning the moon hung in a similar spot, but this time the clouds were thick and bumpy, and the color of the moon was milkier, softer, not as tinged with gold.
and this morning it was higher and whiter, every surface crystal clear and not a single cloud teasingly hovering nearby.
this month's full moon occurred thursday morning at 1:57, while I was ~ gratefully ~ sleeping.
at 6:30 this morning while I was atop little mountain, it looked every bit as full as the fullest moon I've ever seen, and its pearly gray contours twinkled from so very many, many miles away, drawing my eyes and, to be honest, my soul.
I am not alone in this, and am actually in quite esteemed company, born out by this statement attributed to mahatma gandhi:
"When I admire the wonder of a sunset or the beauty of the moon, my soul expands in worship of the Creator"
we live in a world full of amazingly beautiful moments.
now about the visual trick the horizon plays on us, I found a great site that explains it fully and simply. if you so wish, you can get the entire story at www.straightdope.com (www.straightdope.com/columns/read/831/why-does-the-moon-appear-bigger-near-the-horizon).
happy perusing, and I hope you get a glimpse of this moon tonight.
or early tomorrow morning,
on a bike ride.
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