Once in a Supermoon

After seeing the amazing full moon rise last month I had Googled about it and discovered that this month and next month the moon was going to be a supermoon. It is a time when the moon nears its perigee (the closest point to Earth in its orbit). This time round it is called a Pink Supermoon  - nothing to do with the colour of the moon itself. It is named this because it appears in Spring in the northen hemisphere when pink mountain phlox appears as the earliest flower in the season.

I have seen a supermoon before where it comes closer to the earth. I remember there being a blue moon phenomenon a few years ago that was talked about but the cloud cover at the time stopped me from seeing it! In the past I have seen a blood moon  and remember finding this phenomenon quite eerie as it truly made the moon look like a red planet that was very close to earth as if Mars had come nearer for a short time. 

When these phenomenon happen, and how unusual they can appear even though we know what is causing them, it makes me think about how ancient people must have become frightened or superstitious about these apparent supernatural events. So many things that could not easily be explained. Then I think that on the other hand they may have been able to sit back and enjoy the beauty of what they were seeing without needing to understand it and it has me thinking about how we don't often stop and take the time to see. This is usually because we are distracted by the busyness of life or overloaded with so many choices of things to see and do and watch and read... We often don't stop to just be and take notice and appreciate things as they are.

I really wanted to make sure I saw this supermoon and it has taken me 3 days to finally see it due to cloud cover the other couple of nights. I was collecting my son from football again tonight and as we were driving along the motorway I spotted the huge heavy yellow moon sitting on the horizon. I saw it watching us as we drove along and I had a sense of urgency to find a dark place to see it properly.

Once back out near home I pulled down a side road where it was dark with no street lighting nearby so I could see it in its full glory. A photo on my phone doesn't do it justice in terms of its size but it does show how bright that glowing orb was in the sky. And not a shade of pink to be seen!

It is a shame that it takes certain events for us to appreciate things more - such as loss of someone dear, a personal health scare or a natural disaster. Today I challenge you to appreciate the simple things around you with beauty that you don't always take the time to see and to not only do this "once in a super moon" but to do it every day!  I will aim to capture it again next month and might even look into trying to do this with a decent camera next time!