It doesn’t have to be super or blood or lentil or chicory or wolf or rabbit or water vole or what-the-hell-ever the latest foolish name is that some numpty came up with a few days ago while implying it’s been called that for millennia. It’s special and beautiful regardless of the month or the phase, and it doesn’t need extra names. I was prompted to post the unfiltered shots below that I’ve taken in the last decade or so when I saw all the suspiciously “pink” supposedly “super” moon pictures today but just kept seeing this dialog pop up in my head accompanied by a little “doink” noise:

I’d just like to point out once again that the term “supermoon” was coined by an astrologer writing in 1979 for Dell Horoscope magazine, published by Penny Publications primarily for the supermarket checkout trade. There’s no real basis for its current popularity other than as a handy column-inch filler and whatever the digital equivalent of that is called. My choice would be “dross.”

I offer no silly names, no patently ridiculous size claims, no fake colors. Just the moon. It’s plenty good enough as is. You can click any of these for a larger version.

Westford, Massachusetts

York Beach, Maine

Harvard, Massachusetts

York Beach, Maine – if your browser supports full-screen, try clicking on this and pressing F11

I didn’t take the following, but they’re a few of my favorites from a much closer perspective. You can click on them, too, to see a larger size.

Copernicus oblique view, Lunar Orbiter II Frame 162-H3, November 1966

Pete “Tweety” Conrad having the time of his life, Apollo 12, 1969

Apollo 12 Lunar Module “Intrepid” on its way to the Ocean of Storms

John Young packing for a field trip in the Descartes Highlands, Apollo 16, 1972

Not of the moon itself but related:

Apollo 15 launch, 1971

Apollo 16 launch, 1972

Neil Armstrong back inside the Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle immediately after the first moonwalk