Wow that's cool!

You may want to ask on the name that animal forum.

That looks a lot like the mature form of a Tobacco Hornworm. Just Google it and you'll find plenty of info on the particulars.

Yes, they're pretty huge. I found some on my tomato plants this summer and kept them in a bottle with some tomato leaves and dirt. It was pretty awesome to watch it eat day to day, then burrow in soil when it was ready to pupate. A few weeks later we were greeted by a moth just like yours.

Keep an eye on any tomato plants around next year and you may find some of its offspring munching away.

Lovely face shot. =D
Not easy to be sure without a better view of the back, but looks like Manduca Quinquemaculata - 5 Spotted Hawk Moth, aka Tomato Hornworm (when caterpillars). Close relative of the Carolina Sphynx, aka Tobacco Hornworm.