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APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 4:06 am
by APOD Robot
Green Flash and Super Moon
Explanation: It was really not
about superheroes as on May 6 the much touted Super Moon, the largest
Full Moon of 2012, rose over this otherwise peaceful harbor. And no
supervillains were present either as boats gently rocked at their moorings near the checkerboard La Perdrix lighthouse
on the coast of Brittany, France. But the rise of the Super Moon was preceded by a
Green Flash, captured in the first frame of this
timelapse video recorded that night. The cropped image of the frame, a two second long exposure, shows the strongly colored flash left of the lighted buoy near picture center. While the
Super Moon was enjoyed at locations all around the world, the circumstances that produced the Green Flash were more restrictive. Green flashes for both
Sun and
Moon are caused by atmospheric refraction enhanced by long, low, sight lines and strong atmospheric temperature gradients often
favored by a sea horizon.
[/b]
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 4:13 am
by neufer
So it was green cheese after all ![Exclamation :!:](./images/smilies/icon_exclaim.gif)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 4:41 am
by pausanias
Can anyone explain why the APOD website features so few actual astronomical images (as in, taken by a research telescope) these days? There's a lot of moon photography, scenic pictures of conjunctions, montages, space shuttle nostalgia... Would it be possible to get back to actual images taken by the world's best telescopes?
I am sorry to be negative, but it really has been weeks and weeks of scenery lately and not so much of what's new in astronomy.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:03 am
by owlice
Because APOD has a broader definition of astronomical images than you have, pausanias, as it's not limited to images "taken by a research telescope."
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 6:29 am
by Ann
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 10:48 am
by Moonlady
Yay...I am SuperMoonlady today
I thought green flash can appear only while sunset... learning here becomes never boring!
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:24 am
by K1NS
Triple Green Flash
The day of our wedding, at sunset on our honeymoon, my new wife and I were having an evening cocktail on the balcony of our hotel room overlooking the sea in Newport, California. We had a spotting scope set up and we both had binoculars, and as the sun set we both saw, very clearly, a triple green flash, as the refracted light "bleebed" into 3 distinct spots. I have never seen this phenomenum before or since.
Needless to say, we took this as a good omen for what has become a long and happy marriage.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:37 am
by starstruck
Well, must say, I really enjoy the variety and breadth of images and subjects featured on APOD; it is what makes it fascinating and stimulating and more than worthwhile coming back to see every day. Almost without exception, there is something new to be learned. And the comments on Asterisk are always enlightening and/or entertaining too! So, today's pic is another good example. I've never seen a green flash at sunrise or sunset myself yet, but that's not going to stop me from looking out for one. I never actually realised you could get the same effect with the moon too, so there you go, something new. Any road up, as we say in my part of the world, this is a visually pleasing composition
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
. . and I enjoyed revealing the geographical location of the photo by zooming out of the map at the 'on the coast' link. Ta very much.
(and hey, congrats K1NS, great story!)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:48 am
by Jsquared
If the sun is setting to the left of the image, as suggested by the sunlight on the boats, why is the green flash at 90 degrees to it instead of 180?
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:06 pm
by Moonlady
starstruck wrote:Well, must say, I really enjoy the variety and breadth of images and subjects featured on APOD; it is what makes it fascinating and stimulating and more than worthwhile coming back to see every day. Almost without exception, there is something new to be learned. And the comments on Asterisk are always enlightening and/or entertaining too! So, today's pic is another good example. I've never seen a green flash at sunrise or sunset myself yet, but that's not going to stop me from looking out for one. I never actually realised you could get the same effect with the moon too, so there you go, something new. Any road up, as we say in my part of the world, this is a visually pleasing composition
![Very Happy :D](./images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif)
. . and I enjoyed revealing the geographical location of the photo by zooming out of the map at the 'on the coast' link. Ta very much.
Where is the "like" button when you need one?
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:09 pm
by geckzilla
You are expected to exercise your brain a little bit here and provide some input beyond a single word.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:11 pm
by geckzilla
Jsquared wrote:If the sun is setting to the left of the image, as suggested by the sunlight on the boats, why is the green flash at 90 degrees to it instead of 180?
Did you consider the presence of a light other than the sun out of frame? If you check the video link, you can see the light to the left is indeed static.
Vue Gènérale et Feu de la Perdrix
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:28 pm
by neufer
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 12:49 pm
by orin stepanek
I liked today's picture; it's going to make a nice background!
![Cool 8-)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Kudos to Laurent Laveder!
![thumb up :thumb_up:](./images/smilies/thumb_up.gif)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 1:26 pm
by jimchar
Only parts (mostly northern) of Brittany have eastern facing shorelines.
In which town/harbor was this photo taken? Was it Loctudy?
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Loctudy,+ ... ce&t=m&z=8
Thank you.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 1:38 pm
by SLake
What did the mariners of old call the green flash? I've forgotten.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 2:17 pm
by neufer
jimchar wrote:
Only parts (mostly northern) of Brittany have eastern facing shorelines.
In which town/harbor was this photo taken? Was it Loctudy?
Yes:
http://asterisk.apod.com/viewtopic.php? ... 10#p175284
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 2:48 pm
by bolenan
Is there PEPELATS on the photo?
Picture from Kin-Dza-Dza film:
![Image](http://hrenovina.net/wp-content/pepelats.jpg)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 3:25 pm
by moonstruck
pausanias wrote:Can anyone explain why the APOD website features so few actual astronomical images (as in, taken by a research telescope) these days? There's a lot of moon photography, scenic pictures of conjunctions, montages, space shuttle nostalgia... Would it be possible to get back to actual images taken by the world's best telescopes?
I am sorry to be negative, but it really has been weeks and weeks of scenery lately and not so much of what's new in astronomy.
Go to the archives and you can spend several years looking back at all the space pictures of your choice. Today's APOD was super.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:04 pm
by pausanias
I didn't say the scenery pictures are bad. I agree that most of them are beautiful.
I was just remarking that whereas before, there seemed to be an even mix of scenery and scientific images, now the posts now seem disproportionately dominated by scenery images.
And yes, in the archive, which I've downloaded the entirety of, there used to be an even balance of all different types of images. The change/bias towards scenery has been recent (like in the past few months).
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:52 pm
by petunia
Makes me pine for the Keys
![Cool 8-)](./images/smilies/icon_cool.gif)
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 8:53 pm
by LocalColor
Wonderful catch! Congrats on it making the APOD.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Thu May 10, 2012 11:02 pm
by Beyond
geckzilla wrote:You are expected to exercise your brain a little bit here and provide some input beyond a single word.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
I like.
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 8:54 pm
by Moonlady
geckzilla wrote:You are expected to exercise your brain a little bit here and provide some input beyond a single word.
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
Yes, ma'am!
How about this ? :
okeeeeeeeeeeey I know now. a smiley is not enough too, right?... I will use latin letters, form words and with help of grammar rules, build a sentence to express my thoughts and feelings...
Re: APOD: Green Flash and Super Moon (2012 May 10)
Posted: Fri May 11, 2012 11:59 pm
by geckzilla
That's the spirit!