丹麦上空的满月与云隙光

丹麦上空的满月与云隙光

2022年7月27日 Crepuscular Moon Rays over Denmark Image Credit & Copyright: Ruslan Merzlyakov (astrorms) Explanation: This moon made quite an entrance. Typically, a moonrise is quiet and serene. Taking a few minutes to fully peek above the horizon, Earth’s largest orbital companion can remain relatively obscure until it rises high in the nighttime sky. About a week ago, however, and despite being only half lit by the Sun, this rising moon put on a show — at least from this location. The reason was that, as seen from Limfjord in Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, the moon rose below scattered clouds near the horizon. The result, captured here in a single exposure, was that moonlight poured through gaps in the clouds to created what are called crepuscular rays….

恶魔马鞍上方的超级莓月

恶魔马鞍上方的超级莓月

2022年7月4日 Strawberry Supermoon Over Devil’s Saddle Image Credit & Copyright: Lorenzo Busilacchi Explanation: Near the horizon the full moon often seems to loom large, swollen in appearance by the famous Moon illusion. But time-lapse image sequences demonstrate that the Moon’s angular size doesn’t really change as it rises or sets. Its color does, though. Recording a frame about every 60 seconds, this image also shows how red the Sun can look while low on the horizon. The featured montage was taken from Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy, the day after June’s Strawberry Moon, a full moon dubbed a supermoon due to its slightly larger-than-usual angular size. This Strawberry Supermoon is seen rising behind the Devil’s Saddle, a mountain named for the unusual moon-sized dip seen just to…

满月与剪影

满月与剪影

2021年10月10日 Full Moon Silhouettes Video Credit & Copyright: Mark Gee; Music: Tenderness (Dan Phillipson) Explanation: Have you ever watched the Moon rise? The slow rise of a nearly full moon over a clear horizon can be an impressive sight. One impressive moonrise was imaged in early 2013 over Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. With detailed planning, an industrious astrophotographer placed a camera about two kilometers away and pointed it across the lookout to where the Moon would surely soon be making its nightly debut. The featured single shot sequence is unedited and shown in real time — it is not a time lapse. People on Mount Victoria Lookout can be seen in silhouette themselves admiring the dawn of Earth’s largest satellite. Seeing a…

东升的玉米满月

东升的玉米满月

2020年9月14日 Corn Moon Rising Image Credit & Copyright: Zarcos Palma Explanation: A rising moon can be a dramatic sight. A rising Full Corn Moon was captured early this month in time-lapse with a telephoto lens from nearly 30 kilometers away — making Earth’s ascending half-degree companion appear unusually impressive. The image was captured from Portugal, although much of the foreground — including lights from the village of Puebla de Guzmán — is in Spain. A Full Corn Moon is the name attributed to a full moon at this time of year by cultures of some northern indigenous peoples of the Americas, as it coincides with the ripening of corn. Note that the Moon does not appear larger when it is nearer the horizon — its…

月行迹

月行迹

2020 May 7 Analemma of the Moon Image Credit & Copyright: Gyorgy Soponyai Explanation: An analemma is that figure-8 curve you get when you mark the position of the Sun at the same time each day for one year. But the trick to imaging an analemma of the Moon is to wait bit longer. On average the Moon returns to the same position in the sky about 50 minutes and 29 seconds later each day. So photograph the Moon 50 minutes 29 seconds later on successive days. Over one lunation or lunar month it will trace out an analemma-like curve as the Moon’s actual position wanders due to its tilted and elliptical orbit. To create this composite image of a lunar analemma, astronomer Gyorgy Soponyai…

月出与山影

月出与山影

2020 March 14 Moonrise and Mountain Shadow Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Lopez (El Cielo de Canarias) Explanation: What phase of the Moon is 3.14 radians from the Sun? The Full Moon, of course. Even though the Moon might look full for several days, the Moon is truly at its full phase when it is 3.14 radians (aka 180 degrees) from the Sun in ecliptic longitude. That’s opposite the Sun in planet Earth’s sky. Rising as the Sun set on March 9, only an hour or so after the moment of its full phase, this orange tinted and slightly flattened Moon still looked full. It was photographed opposite the setting Sun from Teide National Park on the Canary Island of Tenerife. Also opposite the setting…