fly me to the supermoon
So this “Supermoon” phenomenon that has everyone looking up ended up being quite the dud, at least in Toronto, right? It was supposed to be the biggest, brightest full moon in 18 years—14% bigger, according to NASA:
It seems in other cities, as in Washington D.C., the difference was quite noticeable. My sister texted me that she saw the moon closeup at Blue Mountain, and the moon was orange. I suppose I did notice the moon was a little brighter tonight. But bigger? I think I’ve seen bigger (cue the “that’s what she said” punchline).
Thanks to all this hype, I finally decided to learn how to use the telescope my father bought 14 years ago. Yes, 14 years later, we’re finally putting “Gazelle” to (good) use!
Thank goodness it’s a clear night. It took several test runs—switching lenses and adjusting knobs everywhere—and some “oh my god, I lost the moon!” moments before we got it right. This thing is tricky! For a first-time user though, I was pretty impressed with myself.
When we finally did get it right, we were able to see every crater facing us on the moon’s surface. The moon was stunning, and we were just in awe. We were able to capture the beauty of the moon with our iPhones:
Supermoon or not, this has been (and probably will remain) the most memorable moon experience of my life—unless I switch careers, become an astronaut and travel to the moon. No chance.
That photo is amazing, right?! I think so.
