月之眼

2020年12月02日

Eye of Moon
Image Credit & Copyright: Zachery Cooley

Explanation: Who’s watching who? The featured image of the Moon through a gap in a wall of rock may appear like a giant eye looking back at you. Although, in late October, it took only a single exposure to capture this visual double, it also took a lot of planning. The photographic goal was achieved by precise timing — needed for a nearly full moon to appear through the eye-shaped arch, by precise locating — needed for the angular size of the Moon to fit iconically inside the rock arch, and by good luck — needed for a clear sky and for the entire scheme to work. The seemingly coincidental juxtaposition was actually engineered with the help of three smartphone apps. The pictured sandstone arch, carved by erosion, is millions of years old and just one of thousands of natural rock arches that have been found in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, USA. Contrastingly, the pictured Moon can be found up in the sky from just about anywhere on Earth, about half the time.

Tomorrow’s picture: open space

月之眼
影像提供与版权: Zachery Cooley

说明: 谁在看谁？这幅以石壁岩缝的明月为主题之影像，呈现一只看似在凝视众生的巨眼。在10月底拍照时，虽然只用单曝光就拍下这片双主题景象，然而事前的规划却颇费周章。要拍下这种景观，需要精确计时，让张角半度的盈月正好位在眼形的石拱里，拍照的位置也要定位精确，让月轮和石拱搭配出标志性的眼形。其实，要拍下这个并置景观，共动用了3个智慧手机APP，才得以完成这个壮举。不过，让拍照计画能按规划达成的好天气，则纯属好运。影像中的沙岩石拱，是数百万年来因浸蚀而形成的景观，也是美国犹它州摩押附近的拱门国家公园内，数千个自然形成的石拱之一。相较之下，影像所示的月亮，在地球上几乎任何地方，大约有半天的时间可见到这轮挂在天空的明月。

明日的图片: open space