I try to head up the mesa on the eve of each full Moon to get photos of it rising over the Sandias. Of course, I am 100% dependent on the weather – sometimes it’s clear, sometimes it’s cloudy and sometimes it’s somewhere in between. The time of day makes it even tougher – if the rise is too early there isn’t a lot of contrast between it and the mountain and if it’s too late, the mountain landscape has to be blacked out to avoid over-exposing the much brighter Moon. This is why I always choose the eve of the night of the full Moon as it represents the best chance to balance the two.

It’s a bit of an educated crapshoot, but it’s fun.

One year, I took a photo of the Moon in each of the twelve months. As it turned out, I was lucky that year – the weather was clear every time I went up. The result (with a lot of help from Photoshop) is a map of the point along the eastern horizon where it comes up, month by month, from the most northerly to the southern maximum.

It looks like this –

It might not be something you notice in your day-to-day life, but the celestial mechanics are there and they really do work.

Tonight’s Moon is known as the “Snow Moon” and in the spirit of modern technology, here’s what ChatGPT has to say about it –

“The Snow Moon, also known as the February Snow Moon, is a term used to describe the full moon that occurs in February. It’s called the Snow Moon because February typically experiences heavy snowfall in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in North America.

The term “Snow Moon” has its origins in Native American tradition, where different tribes would assign names to each full moon of the year to keep track of the seasons. These names often reflected the weather conditions or natural phenomena associated with that particular time of year.

The Snow Moon marks a point in the lunar cycle when the moon is at its fullest and brightest for that month. This lunar event has captured the imagination of people for centuries, inspiring folklore, rituals, and cultural celebrations around the world.

Observing the Snow Moon can be a beautiful experience, especially if the sky is clear and the moon is shining brightly. It’s a time when many people take the opportunity to appreciate the beauty of the night sky and connect with nature.”

I think it sounds a bit mechanical and clearly lacking that human je ne sais quoi that you might expect from my writing. Rest assured, for those of you who enjoy reading about our adventures, I will not be using ChatGPT to do all the writing. I promise!

And finally, here’s tonight’s shot by way of good old human shutter clicking –