Posted on 01/13/2024 9:38:07 PM PST by Red Badger
In the image, the moon is perfectly aligned with the peak of Monviso, the highest mountain in the Cottian Alps, and the Basilica of Superga's dome, which is situated near Turin.
In a rare feat, an Italian photographer captured a "one-in-a-million" lunar alignment shot that has gone viral on social media and left netizens mesmerised. The photographer from Italy's Turin, Valerio Minato, captured the extraordinary photo of the moon, which also earned him NASA's "Astronomy Picture of the Day" award in December. In the image, the moon is perfectly aligned with the peak of Monviso, the highest mountain in the Cottian Alps, and the Basilica of Superga's dome, which is situated near Turin. In an Instagram post, Mr Minato said that he snapped the picture on December 15, 2023. "Superga and Monviso had an unforgettable date with Luna," he wrote. "In a very small portion of heaven, for very few seconds, the King of Stone, the Basilica of Superga and the Crescent Moon met giving a unique spectacle. The so-called cinerea moon is also well visible: during the first and last phase of the lunar cycle the light of the Sun is reflected from the Earth towards the Moon, illuminating the portion of the surface in the shadow," the photographer added.
Since being shared, Mr Minato's image has accumulated more than 362,000 likes on Instagram. In the comments section, while some users called the pic beautiful, others called it incredible.
"This is surreal absolutely brilliant composition," commented one user. "To make a photo like this, it takes years of study, months of preparation and an immeasurable dose of passion/love for your job. Photographers like @valeriominato don't have to fear the arrival of artificial intelligence because they are real artists. This picture is touching, but if you add in the feeling of a Bull fan like me," wrote another.
Wow! Thanks for posting this.
If you have an Instagram account there is a hi-res version:
Wow! 🤗👍
Spectacular! Thank you for posting.
If you look closely you can see a pair of hobbits climbing up the left flank of the mountain.
Can someone say how rare of an alignment this would be? Once a year? Once every few months?
That’s pretty cool, but it has everything to do with where he placed the camera and lens. Not so much to do with the moon or the mountain. Great composition though. A+++
He had to time the exposure just right because the Earth turns and the Moon rises.......................
:-)
True enough. And he had to get good weather, and the right time of season when the earth reflects light back to the moon. It’s a cool shot. Thanks for posting it.
No, has nothing to do with "seasons."
During the first one or two days of the lunar cycle, when the Moon is a very thin crescent, this phenomenon (called Earthshine) will always be visible (unless obscured by clouds).
Regards,
Very cool
sorry... i call it fake. no matter the amount of atmospheric refraction, the moon is never that big. and the earth reflection is not enough to get the dark side of the moon that illuminated. the amount of fake pictures out of NASA, its no wonder they show attention to this...
You get a large moon by taking a picture from very far away and using a powerful telephoto lens. The further you get from the subject (mountain and church), the smaller they will appear relative to the moon.
I am not seeing why this image would have to be faked.
Sorry, but you are evincing an abysmal understanding of the basic principles of "forced perspective."
Just look at those people! They are nearly as tall as the Washington Monument!
Just look at this poor man! His right hand is bigger than his entire head!
Gotta be photoshopped, ri-ight?
Regards,
Or, just being in the right spot at the right time.......
Fantastic shot!
Nice!
Plus a lot of weather luck.
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