The side she always shows us is the most worn, with the deepest "oceans" made from ancient lava, dark and mysterious, covering almost a third of the earth-side face. By contrast, only 2% of her far side is so deep and dark.
She pulls us back, slowly, surely, not the tides only, but even our calculation of time is affected by her presence. She is made of the same stuff we are and she is our only constant companion, circling us without fail, marking our lives by her phases, every 28th day beginning again. Our pull on her creates seismic events deep within her core and, without water to dampen them, she shudders much longer than us.
She is tiny in comparison to the sun, but is so much closer to us, so much more intimate, that she stands equal in size in the sky.
Her surface has the consistency of snow, but smells like gunpowder. This consistency reflects the sun's rays even more brilliantly than another composition, which is why she appears to shine so bright to us, even though her reflectance is similar to coal. What an amazing juxtaposition.
Her center is heavier, denser, than us, and than any other body in our solar system except for Io. And her pull is still in some part a great mystery. No one can quite figure out why she moves the way she does and why she pulls us in the way she does.
Her illusion at her rising, so much larger than she actually is, is one of her most charming features. Men knew, centuries before Christ, they were witnessing a mirage. It never stopped them from gasping. It still doesn't.
Check your moon rise for the 2012 supermoon so you don't miss her tonight or tomorrow when she is officially full.
She pulls us back, slowly, surely, not the tides only, but even our calculation of time is affected by her presence. She is made of the same stuff we are and she is our only constant companion, circling us without fail, marking our lives by her phases, every 28th day beginning again. Our pull on her creates seismic events deep within her core and, without water to dampen them, she shudders much longer than us.
She is tiny in comparison to the sun, but is so much closer to us, so much more intimate, that she stands equal in size in the sky.
Her surface has the consistency of snow, but smells like gunpowder. This consistency reflects the sun's rays even more brilliantly than another composition, which is why she appears to shine so bright to us, even though her reflectance is similar to coal. What an amazing juxtaposition.
Her center is heavier, denser, than us, and than any other body in our solar system except for Io. And her pull is still in some part a great mystery. No one can quite figure out why she moves the way she does and why she pulls us in the way she does.
Her illusion at her rising, so much larger than she actually is, is one of her most charming features. Men knew, centuries before Christ, they were witnessing a mirage. It never stopped them from gasping. It still doesn't.
Check your moon rise for the 2012 supermoon so you don't miss her tonight or tomorrow when she is officially full.
0 comments:
Post a Comment