Visions of Super Full Moon Above Portland: a Stellar Event
Published 03/20/2011
(Portland, Oregon) – Some freaky fun happened in the skies over Oregon this weekend, as the Super Full Moon emerged for a decent amount of time on and off over the course of about two days.
There are no firm reports it was seen from the Oregon coast – but that doesn’t mean the Earth’s lunar sister didn’t pop out periodically.
In Portland, however, it made quite a scene. Peculiar colors sometimes accompanied its larger than usual appearance, which were likely caused by the fact digital camera equipment can see gasses in the atmosphere that the human eye can not.
The Super Full Moon was created by the moon at its closest point to the Earth in about a dozen years. Its elliptical orbit takes it back and forth in distance. At its apogee it’s the farthest away; at perigee it’s at the closest. Thus, this moon event was known as a perigee moon.
It was about 14 percent bigger and 30 percent brighter than usual. And it will be a little larger and brighter for a bit longer as well, quickly getting back to its normal very soon.
Clouds cleared out most of the even on Saturday for this stellar event. A fairly cloudless sky also typified the night before – at least in the middle of the night – allowing for some extremely bright conditions as well. But it Saturday and early Sunday morning where the moon really showed off.
These shots were taken from the Beaverton area, near SW Canyon Road and 78th.
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