Earlier in the week, I began to get messages on my smart phone alerting me about the “biggest”, the “brightest”, super moon of 2019, which would occur on February 19. This particular lunar delight was dubbed the ‘super snow moon’ https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2019/02/223464/super-snow-full-moon-february-meaning-2019. Since I like to dabble in astronomy and astrophotography, I made it a point to work the ‘super snow moon’ into the website project.
The ‘Super Snow Moon’ provides a little light on the construction project. Baby it is COLD outside! At the time the photo was taken, the temperature was hovering around 44 degrees Fahrenheit. The cold temperature created a problem: I could go for a great shot of the moon and take out most of the hospital campus or get the whole complex including the moon and risk not getting the proper texture, and a little crystallization noise around the moon. I opted for the latter.
Loma Linda lights at night with the super snow moon in the upper right.The night before, I captured the moon over the east end of the valley. So bright was the lunar sphere that the shadows of the foothills below the San Bernardino mountain peaks were visible. A little less than 11-hours later (approximately 6:10 AM), the moon in all of its illuminated glory had traversed the night sky and hung just above the Medical Center. All was quiet in the yard at this early hour. In a little while the construction crew would be back on site. For Southern California, it was cold (36 degrees) in the little university town, but natures moon illuminated the campus and surrounding landscape as if to give an extra blessing on the day. By mid afternoon the clear skies would give way to the storm clouds from the west.
After graduate school Dennis accepted a position at Loma Linda University. He worked there for 42 years in the areas of administration and financial management, also teaching accounting and management to dietetic students at the School of Public Health. Through the years Dennis has chronicled the growth of the campus, including the construction of the Drayson Center and the Centennial Complex and the razing of Gentry Gym. He is the author of "The Mound City Chronicles: A Pictorial History of Loma Linda University, A Health Sciences Institution 1905 - 2005." dEp 09.30.2016 🔨
