Three astronomical phenomena have combined to create another exceptionally bright "moon" tonight.
The moon is the closest it will get to the earth this month - so it looks bigger by 7%. Tomorrow night the earth will be the closest it will get to the sun this month - so the sun's reflection on the moon is brighter. And the moon is so high in the sky this time of year, it's like a giant spotlight.
I just had to go outside and take a photo.
It didn't take long for me to realize the danger in that. According to my favorite WCCO Weatherman - Chris Shaffer - the temperature outside (with the wind chill) is -24ยบ. I had to be careful about frost bite. (Tripod, camera, gloves, hat, scarf, coat, boots)
I'm back indoors now - with this special first-person report: it is very bright tonight; the moon is so high that I didn't spot it right away; and it's very, very, very cold outside.
I continue to be amazed when I think of the heat halo around the little chickadees on nights like this. Even though they can drop their body temperature 15 degrees, there can be nearly 100-degrees difference between their core body temperature and the air temperature an inch from their feather coats.
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