Provincetown's Moonrise Tonight Just Might Prove Spectacular

I took this photo with no special equipment, just my trusty Canon PowerShot. Not too
bad with no tripod, and clouds moving through the sky, making even autofocus tricky.

Tonight's full moon over Provincetown has the potential to be spectacular, if the weather will cooperate.
The moon will rise at 1:23 AM, likely amid partly cloudy skies, according to the most recent hour-by-hour predictions from weather.com.

I took this photo over Provincetown Harbor during a remarkable Perigee Moon in 2015. That's when the moon's orbit brings it much closer to the earth than it will be at other times of the year, making it look much larger than usual. Since the moon travels in a sort of oval-shaped orbit, during part of the year it appears much smaller, since it is farther away from the earth. That's called an Apogee Moon.
The full moon tonight is known by many names relating to this time of year, most often called by scientists the Beaver Moon. That's what early colonists and Algonquin tribes called it, as they set beaver traps to provide warm furs for the coming winter.

This photo was taken a bit earlier on the same night. As the
moor rises above the  harbor, we can get a golden or even red
color, which quickly fades to yellow, then to white as it rises.

Some call it the Hunter's Moon, or Blood Moon, when First Nations of North America were busy killing deer to stockpile meat for the winter. The name Frost Moon, of course, comes from the usual time of the first real frost of the autumn.
The average person on the street might call it a Harvest Moon, though that usually comes in September or October, varying a little from year to year, but whatever you might call it, tonight's moon will appear to be bigger and brighter than usual.

Not quite the "biggest" moon of the year, tonight it will look very much like a so-called Super Moon, which actually will appear next month, in the wee hours of December 4th in this neck of the woods. Tonight's moon will look a fraction smaller, since it will be some 2,000 miles closer to us next month.But it will still be an amazing sight, provided we can catch a glimpse of it between the clouds that are predicted.

The next time the moon will be closer to Earth than tonight's or December's full moons won't be until November 25th, 2034.

Provincetown's Perigee Moon and Its Stunning Eclipse Rise Over Our Harbor

A flaxen, perigee moon rose over Provincetown Harbor Sunday, October 27th.

 Last Sunday the moon reached it's perigee. That's the point at which it is at its closet to the earth for the year, and thus appearing larger than at any other time of the year.
Since the moonrise occurred before the sky was actually dark, this photo was taken after the moon had risen well up into the clear, night sky.

This photo was taken just moments before the total eclipse of the moon.

A few hours after that moonrise, the dusky shadow of the earth crept slowly over the moon, giving it a sort of reddish color in its total eclipse.

A moon the color of a gold nugget reached above the harbor on Monday night.

The following night, with the moon rising some 30 minutes later in the evening, when the sky was already dark, people turned out anywhere along the harbor to see this huge, deeply golden-colored moon rising over the Truro shoreline and the boats in our harbor.

The full moon rising through these wispy clouds over
Provincetown Harbor takes on an airy, ethereal look.

Later, growing paler as it rose higher in the sky, this enormous moon passed through several wisps of clouds, giving it a rather elegant look.

The Most Amazing Moon of 2015 Will Rise Over Provincetown This Weekend

Sunday's full moon will be a harvest moon, a perigee, the year's largest supermoon, and a total eclipse.

This Sunday the full moon will rise at 6:20 PM, about 10 minutes before the sun sets. It will be a harvest moon, and a perigee moon, meaning that the day the full moon rises, it will also appear closer to the earth than at any other time of the year. That gives it the appearance of the biggest moon of the year. Now, add in the fact that there will be a full lunar eclipse that night, and you'll begin to realize the true magnitude of this momentous occasion. When will be the next time all of that will be visible from North American shores, and occurring on a clear night?
Astronomer Bob Berman explains further on the website of The Old Farmer's Almanac. He titled his article Mega-Harvest-Blood Moon Total Eclipse. The moon rising over Provincetown harbor is likely to be a reddish, sort of golden color, and likely to appear even more colorful when it rises on the following night, about 40 minutes later, after the sky is darker.
Anywhere along the harbor beaches you should find a good spot to watch the rising moon, once the sun sets, and later, Sunday's eclipse will be at its height between 10:11 PM and 11:24 PM, Eastern Time. Watch for exceptionally high tides for a few days, too, with Wednesay's tide hitting around 11.6 feet at 1:41 PM.
A very high tide seems always to be followed by an extremely low one, so Tuesday and Wednesday sunrises on the tidal flats should be great for beachcombing, and may also bring some exceptional photo opportunities, around 6:30 AM.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Spectacular Provincetown Moonrise

With a bigger lens, you'll get a larger, clearer picture
of the moon rising over Provincetown Harbor.

Wow! Did anybody see that full moon rising over Provincetown Harbor the other night? When the timing is just right, and the moon is full, it's a reddish, golden color as it begins to push up into the sky, just peeping above the horizon like the sun does at daybreak. As the moon rises it turns more of a yellowish color, gradually turning whiter as it rises in the night sky.
This happens just a few times during the year, and is visible as long as the night is clear and humidity is low. So when the next full moon comes along, and is just rising shortly after sunset (unless you don't mind getting up at 3 AM or so to see it,) make your way to the edge of the harbor.
The moon seems to rise about an hour later each night, and a day before or after the actual full moon will also give you a pretty spectacular sight, so choose a clear night where the rising moon will just peek up above the harbor, after dark, but before you are in bed. Any Town Landing will lead you down to the beach for a nice viewing point. The little neighborhood beach at the West End parking lot is my favorite spot to catch this amazing sight.

July 4th Fireworks Bonus - Moonrise

 

This year's fireworks were as enjoyable as those in any year in recent memory, but we got a bonus this year. As the sky darkened and the fireworks began, a glowing, golden, amazing full moon began its slow roll up into the night sky, rising into full view within the first few minutes of the holiday fireworks display. In all the times I've sat on the beach at the edge of Provincetown Harbor on the 4th of July and watched the fireworks, I've never seen anything like this. In some years past, humidity in the air, or even a rolling fog bank, has sort of hampered or even obliterated the view, but this year's fireworks exploded under a remarkable, crystal clear PTown sky. The photo above shows this glorious moon behind the bursting fireworks, lighting up the rooftop of Cabral's boathouse on the edge of Provincetown Harbor.

             
         The moon slowly rises, appearing above the head of the man in the foreground

  This photo caught the moment when the center of the explosion

mirrored the golden moon beneath it

 A ground display fired on the heels of a rocket lights up the harbor

As always, if you have photos you'd like to share, let me know.

I'm happy to post them