Tripping the (Warlock Ponds) light fantastic

Warlock Ponds is just a few kilometres south of Mataranka and locals will tell you that on certain nights a ghost rider on a horse can be seen on the old bridge. If ever there was a night for the ghost rider it was last night that saw a blood-orange perigee moon rising over the […]

Crikey

May 07, 2012

Red moon over Warlock Ponds, Mataranka, NT

Warlock Ponds is just a few kilometres south of Mataranka and locals will tell you that on certain nights a ghost rider on a horse can be seen on the old bridge.

If ever there was a night for the ghost rider it was last night that saw a blood-orange perigee moon rising over the ponds. I didn’t see any ghosts – though I did hear the calls of more than a few night-birds.

A “perigee” moon – for those of us ignorant of astronomical terms it means a moon at it’s closest night to us – comes but once (or so) a year.

National Geographic tells me:

During this week’s perigee, the moon will be 221,801 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, and that close approach will happen within minutes of the official full moon phase, which occurs at 11:35 p.m. ET.

Of course a full moon means lots of lovely light about – just the kind of light that I like to play with.

Here are some pics that I caught last night.

As the moon rose in the east the sun left this glorious painting to the west.

And with so much light around you can – to paraphrase Francois Truffaut – turn night for day.

And the combination of such beautiful light, an NT highway can only mean one thing – lots of lovely triple-trailer road trains rolling up the road to Darwin.

Here are a few of my favourites from last night.