The howling supermoon
© pjsells/iStock

The Howling Moon

 There are nights when the wolves are silent and only the moon howls.
                                                                                                        —George Carlin

The August Supermoon made headlines. No surprise. We seem to revere supersize things (Mayor Bloomberg’s jumbo soda ban notwithstanding). And, we often look to the sky for creative inspiration and a connection to the rhythms of the earth.

Who wouldn’t love a full moon so big and so bright, you could almost reach out and touch the textured craters?

Everyone was excited. Astronomers. Photographers. Lovers. Howlers. Skywatchers. Media Magnates. There were “Oh, I see” moments all over the world, as the supermoon was promoted, studied, photographed, and discussed.

A Perigean moon in France
© Kathryn Kemp-Griffin

By the Light of the Perigean Moon

The phenomena of Supermoons happens often enough to add terms like “apogee” and “perigee” to our vocabulary, and yet rarely enough to gain media attention and send people in search of a vista where the moon will be clearly visible.

A Supermoon occurs when the moon, sun, and earth are aligned (called syzygy), and when the moon comes closer to the earth than its standard orbit (the exact definitions vary, but the gist is that the moon comes closer to the earth than normal by about 10%).

When the moon is closest to the earth, it’s called perigee. When it’s at its farthest, it’s called apogee (a micro moon).

Supermoon at the Pinnacles National Park in California
© David Taggart

A Year of Supermoons

This year offered five Supermoons. The first two, in January, were new moons, not so super to the eye. The other three, however, are full moons—July, August, and one yet to come on September 9.

Although the difference between a Supermoon and a regular moon is difficult to detect for the average viewer, the perigee is said to be about 14% bigger and 30% brighter.

Scientific studies show that Supermoons have no significant link to natural disasters, but the tug on the oceans is visibly stronger (higher and lower tides).

The Supermoons stir the creative juices, as well as (possibly) throwing a bit of “lunatic” energy out into the cosmos.

An iPhone’s impression of the Supermoon over Monterey Harbor in California
© Meredith Mullins

Photographers capture the Supermoon with varying artistic vision, in up-close-and-personal portraits and in conjunction with other elements—a halo around a statue’s head; a glowing orb in the palm of a hand; a distant circle, dwarfed by something larger in the foreground; mysterious silhouettes with the moon as backdrop.

Supermoon from the rear deck of a cruise ship in Alaska
© Lauren Gezurian-Amlani

Hype and Hyperbole

The August Supermoon was well hyped in the media, and the upcoming Supermoon will surely take center stage on the evening of September 9th. Creative inspiration will continue.

I say, whatever it takes to inspire us to stop for a moment and look at a beautiful rising moon in the stillness of the night . . . is OK by me.

Comment on this post and include your best Supermoon photograph, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Thank you to Kathryn Kemp-Griffin for introducing me to the George Carlin quote.