Our Beautiful Moon

“May you have warm words on a cold evening, 
a full moon on a dark night and the road downhill all the way to your door.”

-An Irish blessing 

There is something completely magical about a bright moon on a clear evening. And a lucky group of grad students were able to experience this enchantment the other night after class in a very special way. 

In Clancy’s Science Methods class, we have been diligently journaling about the moon each night, noting if its visibility, luminosity, position in the sky, and any details we can see. So, on a clear Thursday night, Clancy met us outside of the learning studios as we trickled out of Denise’s class. Set up was a viewing scope attached to a small TV screen. As Clancy fiddled with the scope to get it just right, we were all gathered around, anxious to see the moon up close. As soon as it came into view, bright and detailed, we spontaneously started cheering and exclaiming with awe. We were just like an SOP group, giddy and excited, marveling at the moon’s beauty and sharing this unique experience with each other. We erupted in songs about the moon, took turns at the TV to see the moon up close, and passed around binoculars that provided a similar spectacular view.

Even if he wanted to, Clancy probably couldn’t have gotten the group to sit down and journal at that moment. He stayed back and let us explore, discover, and fire off questions like, “Is there such thing as a dark side of the moon?” It was an important lesson for us, not only to learn about the moon, but also to remember how our kids feel most of the time when they are here: full of wonder, awe, and completely inspired by the beauty of our natural world.

We get it almost every night
and when that moon gets big and bright
it's supernatural delight
everybody was dancin' in the moonlight

 -Dancing in the Moonlight by King Harvest