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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Clear Skies and a "Supermoon"

Okay, this has to be one of the oddest ties-ins to a post of mine, but here it goes.

Yesterday, I was wandering around taking photos for a future post I am planning to do and I noticed how clear and blue our skies are here in Uruguay. After living in Seattle for 18 years and living with cloudy overcast weather (even in summer), I now truly appreciate the intense blue color above me.

So, upon coming back to my house and thinking about the spectacular day I had enjoyed it was just a natural progression to start thinking about how clear our nights are too! At night, I often enjoy looking at the Milky way that seems to hover directly above my house and also enjoy the fact that I now am quite familiar with the Southern Cross formation of stars. 

But tonight, I will be looking at the moon, the "Super moon" expected to shine!

The "experts" say this moon will appear 30% brighter and 14% larger to us Earthlings tonight because it is in a closer orbit than usual.  Especially, because it happens to be a full moon tonight, Saturday the 19th, 2011 and the sky is due to be relatively clear, it is a "must see" this evening.

The moon is due to rise at 8:10 pm so be ready and seated at 8pm.
At 3pm eastern daylight time the moon will be at its closest to earth since 18 years ago, at 221, 565 miles (356, 575 Kilometers) away. The next time this will occur is in 2016. Theoretically the moon is only truly full for a few seconds that's why you have to be ready and seated waiting for it to occur!

To have a moon become full within 50 minutes of it's also being so close to the earth is just Super or in this case a "Supermoon".

10 comments:

Phil said...

What an absolutely delightful scene of a country road under pristine blue skies that first photo is. Is it really all as serene and relaxed as it appears?

I must say, Denise, you should be an ambassador for Uruguay for your exceptional pictoral depictions of the Uruguayan landscape. I absolutely cannot wait for my visit to this lovely country later this year and much of my enthusiasm is due to your wonderful photographs. Thank you.

Denise said...

Wow! Phil,what an endearing complement you paid me! I'm the picture taker in this family,so Thank you very much!

How great, that you can actually come and visit Uruguay this year. Feel free to look us up(we're in the phone book)
Yes,this IS a very relaxing place!

I hate to say it, but that street was NOT in the country(it was on my walk into Salinas)instead it is one of the typical dirt style roads you will see in beach towns(balnearios)
up and down the coast. I prefer the beach towns because of these lovely treed lanes.

The campo or rural country has an open plains type of look, think cows in a field.

However, whether it's the Capital city of MVD, the hills of Minas or of Piriápolis,the campo or along the coast, I know you will have a peaceful and enjoyable visit!

Phil said...

A well deserved compliment.

It would be great to give you and Wally a buzz during my visit, perhaps it will be possible.

Thank you for the info -- each part of Uruguay seems to have it's very own distinctly appealing aspect, I am discovering. I just know visiting Uruguay is going to be thrilling!

Judy A said...

Hi Denise & Wally. I just recently started reading your blog, starting at the very beginning clear through until now. We, too, are planning to visit Uruguay, in September we hope.

I have been trying to gather as much information as possible on the country and what it's like to live there, with the idea of determining if it would be a good place to retire. Your blog has been a great help, because you are both so adept at describing life as it is, day to day.

I'm hoping in the next couple months I can discuss some of our questions about visiting if you have the time.

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this blog faithfully. I'll bet there are others just like me who have been reading it just as faithfully and (until now) have not ever commented.

I surely do enjoy it. Keep up the good work! :)

Graham said...

Denice and Wally, you said that you are in the phone book - what phone book?
We have been in Atlantida for 9 months and haven't seen a phone book yet!
I enjoy reading your blog and the colour of the sky played a big part in the decision to retire here.
Cheers,
Graham

Denise said...

Dear Judy,(Phil, this applies to you too!) if you ever want to email us with any questions here's how. Comment, one more time and leave your email address with the comment. AS SOON AS we see it, we will write down your address then promptly delete the whole comment so as to keep your address private. It will however be visible publicly until we find/see it. Once we can write back and forth privately we can possibly exchange phone numbers. We can call the USA for free using Google.

Denise said...

Dear Graham, Nine months in Atlántida and we've never met! One day we will try and go to an expat meeting at Don Vitos to see who shows. We obviously haven't been there in awhile to meet anyone new. Antel the phone company, put us in their 2010 phone book. Go there and ask for a copy. It does NOT come out new each year,probably every 5 years since paper is so expensive here. Do you know Syd & Gundy? They know our phone and address. Thanks for commenting, it spurs me on to continue blogging. Enjoy your blue sky days.

Unknown said...

Denis, you took that picture?
What camera did you use?
Enjoy the tequila I sent you... no more sad tales.. jaja Gustavo

InvestLiveUruguay said...

Hello Denise,
It's very nice to find this blog about living in Uruguay from a retiree's point of view. I am looking forward to reading more. I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the blog I am creating. Let me know what you think!

Graham said...

Thank you Denice, I'm off to Antel to get a phone book and yes I know Syd and Gundy so I'll be in touch.