Starship Asterisk*

Perigee's Full Moon

Explanation: A big, bright, beautiful Full Moon will rise at sunset on Sunday. Its exact full phase (June 23, 11:32 UT) will occur shortly before it reaches perigee, the closest point to Earth in the Moon's orbit, and make it the largest Full Moon of 2013. But such circumstances are not very rare. The full lunar phase falls near the Moon's orbit perigee about every 14 lunar months. That means the following Full Perigee Moon will be on August 10, 2014, the 14th Full Moon after June 23. On May 5, 2012, 14 Full Moons ago, this inspired telescopic night skyscape captured the Full Perigee Moon rising over Cape Sounion, Greece and the ancient Temple of Poseidon.

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The Energizer Rabbit in the Moon.....
And it is the same Moon, that ALL have looked up at...

And...A beautiful picture!

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Well done my friend!

Beautiful photo. Congrats Anthony Ayiomamitis for being chosen for today's APOD.

Last year's "super moon" from where we live.


http://tinyurl.com/7colgh5

Hoping for clear sky for this year's "super moon".

Note: this is not a submission, just wanted to add to the discussion. OK?

Hmm... must be the 'ghost' of (comic book) Superman carrying on then, huh

Beyond wrote:
Hmm... must be the 'ghost' of (comic book) Superman carrying on then, huh

Don't know.

But his cape must have a lot of starch in it (like the Apollo flags).

neufer wrote:

Beyond wrote:
Hmm... must be the 'ghost' of (comic book) Superman carrying on then, huh

Don't know.

But his cape must have a lot of starch in it (like the Apollo flags).

I don't think the flags had too much (if any) starch in them. They were attached to an L frame. If you look close, you can tell the flag pole runs the whole length of the top. Not being much familiar with starch, i don't know if you can get that kind of wrinkle in a starched flag. OH, wait a minute, if it was starched like my military clothes were, it would flat and straight.

The moon is not oriented correctly in this picture:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130622.html

John M. Haskew wrote:The moon is not oriented correctly in this picture:
http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap130622.html

Looks right to me. And here's the simulated view from Athens on that date:
What seems wrong to you?

Greetings, Chris:

1. First, apologies: This is my first post. I should have put this topic under the existing thread for 22 June 2013. I find no "delete" button, however.

2. If I am not mistaken, the moon's face is generally fixed at rise when seen from any location in the northern hemisphere, and the same for the southern hemisphere. See this random comparison:
http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos/3002197.jpg

John M. Haskew wrote:1. First, apologies: This is my first post. I should have put this topic under the existing thread for 22 June 2013. I find no "delete" button, however.

Not to worry. One of the moderators will likely move it there soon enough.

2. If I am not mistaken, the moon's face is generally fixed at rise when seen from any location in the northern hemisphere, and the same for the southern hemisphere.

No, the apparent angle between the Moon's features and the horizon changes smoothly with latitude.

No, the apparent angle between the Moon's features and the horizon changes smoothly with latitude.

But the compared image is from Greece: http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3002197

(Technical question: How did you insert the Athens image directly into your post? I tried to use the Img tool but it just gave the URL.

John M. Haskew wrote:

No, the apparent angle between the Moon's features and the horizon changes smoothly with latitude.

But the compared image is from Greece: http://twanight.org/newTWAN/photos.asp?ID=3002197

Well, they were taken at somewhat different latitudes. But more importantly, they were also taken on different dates. The date affects the azimuth of the moonrise, which also affects the angle of the features with respect to the horizon.

(Technical question: How did you insert the Athens image directly into your post? I tried to use the Img tool but it just gave the URL.

I uploaded it directly as an attachment. That feature may not be available to you until you've made a few posts (to prove you're not a spammer).

Yes, I think the difference in latitude would be negligible and would not cause nearly a ninety-degree shift in appearance.

As to date, you may be right. We see nearly a ninety-degree difference in orientation between 22 June and 4 October. If azimuth is the cause of the shift, this would likewise imply nearly a ninety-degree difference in azimuth, which of course does not occur. I will observe the moon here in Florida over the coming months to look for rotation.

I may post another question in a different thread as to the change in orientation of the moon within its daily travel across the sky. Many thanks!

Correction: It is closer to a forty-five-degree shift between the dates and not ninety. Azimuth may very well be the cause.

Can you show the orientation diagram from Athens for 4 October 2009? Where did you get that grid diagram?

I forgot what software Chris is using but you can easily download a free planetarium software, set your location and date/time and then change the date to 6 months later and see how much the Moon apparently rotates. I just did this with Stellarium and have found no disagreements with what it simulates and the photos you've posted.

(PS - I also see no need to delete any posts here. It's not confusing or wrong enough to require me to do any moderation as far as I can tell. Unless, of course, another mod got to whatever it was before I got here.)

geckzilla wrote:(PS - I also see no need to delete any posts here. It's not confusing or wrong enough to require me to do any moderation as far as I can tell. Unless, of course, another mod got to whatever it was before I got here.)

I don't think there was a suggestion to delete anything, just to move the postings to the correct forum.

Chris, what program did you use for that Athens picture? I am trying to download Stellarium but I like the grid in your program.

John M. Haskew wrote:Chris, what program did you use for that Athens picture? I am trying to download Stellarium but I like the grid in your program.

TheSky. It's expensive, and I use it mainly for telescope control. Stellarium lets you turn grids on and off.