Over the past few weeks, Pete Souza, the official White House Photographer, has been filling his Instagram feed with archival photos from Obama's presidency. But last night, Souza took a break from posting photos of Obama with Bo and Vice President Biden, to show a very different kind of shot. There weren't any people in this one — instead, it captured the November supermoon in all its golden glory.
The photo shows the full moon as it rises above D.C., to the left of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. According to Souza's Instagram caption, he took the photo while on his commute home from the White House.
While there are many gorgeous images of the moon, which reached its peak early this morning, none seem quite as eerily significant as Souza's. The last time the full moon was as close to earth as it was this morning was in 1948. That year, President Harry S. Truman defeated Republican Thomas E. Dewey in what the History Channel calls, "the greatest upset in presidential election history."
After Donald Trump's shocking presidential victory, that description is likely to change. At the end of what was an unprecedented week in Washington, Souza's shot of the moon offers a moment to reflect on all that has happened since this year's Election Day and how it is both similar to and different from what occurred in 1948.
The next time the moon is this close to Earth it will be 2034. By that time, no matter what happens in the next presidential election, Donald Trump will be out of office. And while 2034's moon might look similar to how to it appeared in the sky this morning, the country and the rest of the world may look drastically different.