There was some media hyperbole about the full moon this past weekend.  Because of the irregularity of the moon’s orbit, the moon was to pass closest to earth this month.  This occurs every 22 years.  The moon was supposedly 14% bigger and brighter than… what? When?  As with most media news, the science is glossed over completely in favor of sensational claims like 14% brighter, never mind the details.  I can only assume they meant it was 14% bigger and brighter than it was 11 years ago when it was probably farthest from earth.

In any case, it was a fine evening to hike up a nearby hill and take photographs of the full moon rising.  I checked my GPS which has a sun and moon app on it.  It stated the moon would rise at 7:38 my local time.

I hiked to the top of the hill.  At 7:38 nothing was visible.

It turned out there were some clouds in the east which blocked my view of the actual moon rise.  At 7:48, this is what I saw:

There is a slight bluish cast in this photo because it wasn’t fully dark yet.

And then back behind the clouds:

This last one is my favorite.  I’m glad the clouds intervened a little.

Click the photos for larger versions.