APOD: An Airplane in Front of the Moon (2010 Sep 29)

[APOD Robot]

An Airplane in Front of the Moon

Explanation: If you look closely at the Moon, you will see a large airplane in front of it. Well, not always. OK, hardly ever. But if you wait for days with your camera attached to a Moon tracker in a place where airplanes are known to pass, you might catch a good photograph of it. Well, if you're lucky. OK, extremely lucky. The above image was taken two weeks ago over South East Queensland, Australia using an exposure time of 1/250th of a second and, in the words of the photographer, "a nerve of steel".

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[mexhunter]

This type of photos, where the challenge, the "nerve of steel "and luck, many good luck, I really like.
Although they have the degree of difficulty of a picture that combines many frame for hours of Ha + LRGB; or the patience of the night landscape, where the Moon plays a different role; but in are this pictures as understood by the people, who quickly is called favorites.
This clearly has those attributes.
Without neglecting all those who have the Sun or the Moon and the ISS, there are also many large aircraft, helicopters or birds of course.
Greetings
César

[Mr America]

Blimey........Better go have meself a Fosters!!!!

[Ann]

It's like when I was a kid and read the Superman comics, and Superman carried the Earth on his shoulders. I couldn't find a really good picture of that when I googled, but this one will have to do (and you may have to right click on an irritating red cross to see the image)...



As for today's APOD, it's a bird, it's a plane, it's a... plane! It's a super plane! It's a Clark Kent plane in disguise!

Fly me to the Moon? No, fly the Moon to me!

Ann

P.S. I love today's caption!

[Jogi]

Nice shot!

Does anyone know the type of plane in this picture? Looks like a military plane to me. Would be great if anyone knows, thanks!

[bystander]

Kangaroo Moon first seen on Asterisk here.
For more information, see here and here.

Does anyone know the type of plane in this picture? Looks like a military plane to me. Would be great if anyone knows, thanks!

According to the thread at iceinspace, it is a Dash 8-400.

[biddie67]

Spectacular! Congratulations on your patience and timing!!

[Firehorse]

A wonderful photo of the Moon - spoiled.

[neufer]

Staged...just like the Apollo moon landings!

(The plane is obviously just a prop.)

[freckledfish]

Over thirty years ago I was looking at a first-quarter Moon, through a 4" reflector, in the garden one evening. I'd been out for perhaps half-an-hour. All was quiet and still, apart from a couple of hedgehogs snuffling at the far end of the lawn.

Suddenly an RAF Tornado (silently) tore across the view - I know the shapes of their fins from the plastic model I had at the time - and for the briefest moment it was surrounded by lunar features. I literally leapt back from the viewfinder, my heart racing at about 200 bpm.

I've never forgotten it: it was so outlandish, so freakily unlikely. Such a shock.

Today's APOD brings the memory back again.

Andy

[emc]

In this case, to have coined “thrill of the hunt”, would have been an overstatement... (Seems a little like watching a big space rock weather... ) and the thrill of the capture is likely underrated. Congratulations!
----------------------
First thing that snapped in my synapses...
"Look mummy, there's an aeroplane up in the sky", Harry Waters, Pink Floyd, Goodbye Blue Sky

[orin stepanek]

Nice picture; nice catch; Chris!

[BMAONE23]

Staged...just like the Apollo moon landings!

(The plane is obviously just a prop.)

That is obviously the plane they used to fly the LM and lander to the moon to stage the shots

[bystander]

Staged...just like the Apollo moon landings!

(The plane is obviously just a prop.)

It is not just a prop, it is a turbo prop.

[Beyond]

Staged...just like the Apollo moon landings!

(The plane is obviously just a prop.)

well, you're half right art, it's got two props!

[quaver]

There appears to be 2 highlights along the body of the plane. Since the moon is behind the airplane, what light sources are causing these highlights? Shouldn't the airplane part of the image be just a silhouette. Please forgive me if I'm seeing things incorrectly. I'm legally blind.

[neufer]

There appears to be 2 highlights along the body of the plane. Since the moon is behind the airplane, what light sources are causing these highlights? Shouldn't the airplane part of the image be just a silhouette. Please forgive me if I'm seeing things incorrectly. I'm legally blind.

Note that the sky is blue and not black.

[zbvhs]

It's what's known as an occultation event. Some people spend years watching for them. Cool picture. Nice-looking airplane.

[nicabol]

As a former high school astronomy teacher, this reminds me of an exercise in which, if you know the dimensions of the plane, you can use this (by trig & geometry) to calculate the distance to the moon.

[Chris Peterson]

As a former high school astronomy teacher, this reminds me of an exercise in which, if you know the dimensions of the plane, you can use this (by trig & geometry) to calculate the distance to the moon.

You need to know more than just the dimensions of the plane to figure out the distance to the Moon. In this case, you'd probably also want to know the physical diameter of the Moon.

[boblippman]

The photographer deserves awards for patience & creativity.

[Randall Stewart]

Does anyone know the type of plane in this picture? Looks like a military plane to me. Would be great if anyone knows, thanks!

Looks like a De Havilland Dash 8. See http://www.aviation-fan-club.com/images ... 400_3d.gif.

RS

[neufer]

As a former high school astronomy teacher, this reminds me of an exercise in which, if you know the dimensions of the plane, you can use this (by trig & geometry) to calculate the distance to the moon.

You need to know more than just the dimensions of the plane to figure out the distance to the Moon. In this case, you'd probably also want to know the physical diameter of the Moon.

Ze unknown to calculate here (using plane geometry) is probably ze distance to Ze plane!

[Ann]

As a former high school astronomy teacher, this reminds me of an exercise in which, if you know the dimensions of the plane, you can use this (by trig & geometry) to calculate the distance to the moon.

You need to know more than just the dimensions of the plane to figure out the distance to the Moon. In this case, you'd probably also want to know the physical diameter of the Moon.

Ze unknown to calculate here (using plane geometry) is probably ze distance to Ze plane!

Hmmmm, that reminds me of something... someone... Fritz Zwicky? Wernher von Braun?



Vonce ze rockets are up, who cares vere zey come down? Zat's not my department, says Wernher von Braun.

Ann

[neufer]

Hmmmm, that reminds me of something... someone... Fritz Zwicky? Werner von Braun?

Vonce ze rockets are up, who care vere zey come down?
Zat's not my department, says Werner von Braun.

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... 511#p97269
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Zwicky-pedia:

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... icky#p1164

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ky#p127292

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ky#p109212

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... cky#p98335

http://asterisk.apod.com/vie ... ky#p108625