Posted on 05/24/2023 11:36:44 AM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: Sometimes we witness the Moon moving directly in front of -- called occulting -- one of the planets in our Solar System. Earlier this month that planet was Jupiter. Captured here was the moment when Jupiter re-appeared from behind the surface of our Moon. The Moon was in its third quarter, two days before the dark New Moon. Now, our Moon is continuously half lit by the Sun, but when in its third quarter, relatively little of that half can be seen from the Earth. Pictured, the Moon itself was aligned behind the famous Lick Observatory in California, USA, on the summit of Mount Hamilton. Coincidentally, Lick enabled the discovery of a moon of Jupiter: Amalthea, the last visually detected moon of Jupiter after Galileo's observations.
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That picture was taken with a very good lens (or perhaps telescope).
A little photogrammetry and high-school math reveals that the photographer was a bit more than two miles due west from the Lick observatory dome.
The point of view is probably on Hamilton Road (SR 130) (37.331231819847844, -121.68518222295448 on Google Maps).
That is such a cool picture. Hats Off to the photographer who snapped it!
Why does the moon look so big? I’ve never seen it that big even close to the horizon.
Since the camera is aiming east, and the gradient of the sky is lighter toward the horizon, one can deduce that it was taken before sunrise. Very early to be out and set up to catch an occultation!
A well planned out photo.
The picture is taken through a very long lens, probably around 400 mm or a bit more. The camera is a long way from the observatory, which is why the moon looks so large in comparison to it.
A well planned out photo.
Indeed!
Observatory Aligned with Moon Occulting Jupiter, which aligns with Mars
Then peace will guide the planets
And love will steer the stars
Yes, it’s in the East—Jupiter is a morning star now and this was two or three days before new moon.
During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen on the illuminated part of the disk, first at the Lick Observatory, then by Perrotin of Nice, and then by other observers. English readers heard of it first in the issue of Nature dated August 2. I am inclined to think that this blaze may have been the casting of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk into their planet, from which their shots were fired at us. Peculiar markings, as yet unexplained, were seen near the site of that outbreak during the next two oppositions.
Ok thank you.
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