musings from the terrace: The moon's a balloon!

Well the moon has been as big and round as a balloon this week. I must say the words "The Moon's a Balloon" came straight to mind and I thought it was a song. Well it's not. But you probably know that. It's the memoir by British actor David Niven (1910–1983) which was published in 1972. It details his early life and I'm sure I've read it (but a long time ago!)

But back to this week's moon! I must say I was travelling down to the coast the other evening and the moon really was a balloon. We got pretty excited as it seemed to follow us along the highway. But I'd been to a looonngg lunch and in my 'haze' (I was the passenger) we didn't think to stop on the side of the road and take a photo. The difference between the moon in the country and the moon in the city is extraordinary. No city lights = a brighter moon. With city lights + cloud cover this is what you would have seen

An eerie 'city' moon

It's been a busy week for moon watchers and I can see why as the moon is currently closer to the earth than 'usual', hence this wonderful glow in the sky. It is the biggest and the brightest for the year. I can see how 'ancient peoples' would have worshipped the moon (and the sun)

No wonder it's called a supermoon and it's certainly super!

The supermoon - a photo taken by Garry Hannam at Modbury Heights in South Australia

Seeing the moon rise is always an eerie experience. As those who read my Musings will know earlier this year I missed by just 24 hours one of my all time natural favourite wonders - Staircase to the Moon in Broome (see post here). But here it is again.

An amazing natural phenomenon - Staircase to the Moon

And when I was in the Flinders Ranges recently (see post here) it was fascinating to see the moon rising and the outline it made around the cloudy skies. We had the same here in Melbourne this week but the city lights ensured it was indicipherable when I clicked.