These days Moon is at its closest point to Earth and full moon looks 14% bigger and 30% brighter than usual according to NASA. A supermoon is the coincidence of a full moon or a new moon with the closest approach the Moon makes to the Earth on its elliptical orbit, resulting in the largest apparent size of the lunar disk as seen from Earth. The technical name is the perigee-syzygy (from the Ancient Greek suzugos (σύζυγος) meaning "yoked together" is a straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system) of the Earth-Moon-Sun system.
Well, for the scientists Moon is just a round piece of rock that revolves around the Earth, but according to Greek mythology, Selene, the goddess of Moon, is in love with mortal Endimion, eternally sleeping in a cave on Mount Latmus. Various myths tell different stories as to the cause of his eternal sleep, but the exact origin of this oneiric state and Selene’s role (if any) in it is unclear.
"Selene watched him from on high, and slid from heaven to earth; for passionate love drew down the immortal stainless Queen of Night." (Quintus Smyrnaeus' The Fall of Troy). And so Selene keeps pouring her sad light from high above, pining over her unrealizable love. The satellite’s “sorrowful face” created by dark volcanic maria that fill between the bright ancient crustal highlands and the prominent impact craters might, at least in part, have inspired the tales.
Every time I look at its wistful visage I wonder why would it turn precisely the doleful side to us (the far side is plain and inexpressive). Is it mourning our fate?
 |
| Supermoon. (© LightColourShade. All rights reserved) |
Absolutely incredible, Stella. I'm so glad that you had such a fine view of this event. For us, it was cloudy, and there was too much ambient light anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I hope next time I'll capture it closer to the horizon where it looks really gigantic.
Delete