Mar 22 2009
Let’s Talk About the Moon
I love the Moon . I love the crescent moon, slicing a bit of silver through the diamond-studded night. I love the full glow of the moon when it’s heavy and round in the sky, sometimes silver, sometimes gold, sometimes copper, depending on the vagaries of orbital mechanics and our own atmosphere. I love it when it’s growing or shrinking, shining on us.
I love it veiled in clouds, sometimes just a misty glow behind the dense cover, sometimes just slightly out of focus behind the diaphanous fingers of cirrus.
I love that having that gorgeous chunk of celestial beauty is within reach, is hanging so close that it affects the tides, that it’s so in sync with us that it always shows us the same face.
It awes me that we walked there, set foot on another celestial body (and, yes, we were there). It awes me that it’s taken so much damage and looks on us with it’s scarred visage, undaunted and undone.
So, yes, I’ve been painting a copy of the moon on my hallway wall. And I can’t do justice to it with my own pictures (sorry), although I recommend anyone interested in beautiful and interesting pictures of the moon to check out Black Holes and Astrostuff - Bob takes and shows superlative images, often taken in the (literally) breath-taking cold.
As I keep painting, I’ll probably talk about the moon a bit more. And, when I start on other planets, I’ll do more. Do check out the moon link above. It will take you to The Nine Planets , a great source for finding out more about our solar system.
It’s a beautiful thing.
I remember one night, coming home from choir. We’d decided to swing by our local grocery store on the way back, so we were heading westward. The moon was in a crescent phase at this time, the crescent concave up, and just above the horizon; it was tinted red, and looked as large as I’d ever seen it. Absolutely beautiful.
(Then again, I like red moons. Had one for my eighteenth birthday, due to a total lunar eclipse–that was fun. Worth the Washington fall evening chilliness.)
And anything involving the moon through clouds that can’t make up their minds whether they’re thick enough to hide it or not…
I like the way the rotation period and the revolution period line up, too. Always seeing the same face is interesting; good for curiosity about the other side.
I’m very fascinated by the moon. Moonlight is so beautiful… and necessary. My folks live in the country in NC. When the moon is covered by clouds, I can’t see my hand in front of my face at night there. When the moon is uncovered, it decorates the sky with its magnificence. Awoooo! (my howling attempt)
Davida
Thanks for sharing about the Moon - we will most likely walk again on the surface of the moon. Black Holes and Astrostuff is one of my favorite sites - I make daily stops to see what is new. His images are awsome!
I’m glad you all are as enthusiastic as I am about the moon. What’s not to like?
With regards to painting, I was originally trying to recreate my sister’s award winning chalk-on-black-paper drawing from high school that actually hung in the Smithsonian for a year (and garnered her a telescope and a year’s membership to a particular museum as prizes), but acrylics on the wall do not do it justice, especially given that I’m completely devoid of artistic talent. So, I’m starting over.
I will be doing more planets, but I don’t know if I’ll do ones from our solar system (though that’s likely) or just play with notions for other planets. None will be the big production I’m making of the moon (~6′ in diameter); they’ll all be smaller. All will also be highlighted with different colors of glow-in-the-dark paint because I’m whimsical like that. I promise to post photographs (preferably taken by folks with photographic talent) as I finish them.
I also enjoy Bob’s site. The pictures are absolutely incredible!!!!
We loved out in the country when I was growing up, and I used to love spending warm summer nights sitting up on our jungle gym and just looking at the moon, stars, and Milky Way. It used to fill me with hope and perspective. No matter what was going on in my life, it somehow seemed so minor when I would think about how massive the universe really is.
My dad used to take us to skywatching events with the local community college. When Halley’s Comet came through, we went out every night for a week, despite my mom’s protests about school nights. I can’t wait to share similar moments with my son.
Man, you and your sister are talented! I’m very impressed.
I’m not as much as moon person as a star person. But I think painting the moon on your wall is one of the coolest things I’ve heard of.
When I’m finished, we’ll see how cool it really is.