Astronomy Picture of the Day

NASA ^ | 3/20/11 | Anthony Ayiomamitis (TWAN)

[paul in cape]

Parthenon Moon

Explanation: Did you see the Full Moon last night? Near the horizon, the lunar orb may have seemed to loom large, swollen in appearance by the famous Moon illusion.

But the Full Moon really was a large Full Moon last night, reaching its exact full phase within an hour of lunar perigee, the point in the Moon's elliptical orbit closest to planet Earth.

A similar near perigee Full Moon last occured on December 12, 2008. The difference in the Moon's apparent size as it moves from perigee to apogee, its farthest point from Earth, is about 14 percent. Of course, a nearly Full Moon will rise again tonight, lighting the skies on the date of the Equinox or equal night.

The Full Moon also looms large in this well-planned, telescopic lunar portrait. Captured earlier this year, the rising lunar orb is dramatically matched to the 2,500 year old Parthenon, in Athens, Greece.

[paul in cape]

I don't believe this was photoshopped, and the Moon was really that big!

AWESOME!

[Christian Engineer Mass]

I believe the trick is they are very far away, using a telescope, and that building is very far in the distance

[xp38]

Well I see they are still working on and restoring the Parthenon. When I visited in 1996 there was similar work and scaffolding.

[Trityn]

Roughly 11.5 km away.
______________

Moon subtends ~0.5 degrees.

Parthenon is ~70x30m. Which is at an angle from our vantage point. So distance across is estimated to be ~100m from edge to edge from this vantage point. Noting it is approximately the same size (angle subtended) as the moon.

hypotenuse*sin(1/2*0.5)=1/2*(100)
hypotenuse=11459
using small angle formula the Parthenon is roughly 11.5 km away.

[null and void]

I’ve missed my APOD.

[George from New England]

That photographer had to know when to be there and exactly where to be to get this perfect shot. The lighting had to be perfectly balanced as well. A day earlier or later would not be the same. Kudos to him or her.

[Names Ash Housewares]

The moon looks that big because the camera is zoomed in from a distance.
The moon is only I think 14% larger right now then when it is at it’s farthest orbit from the earth.
Also to the human eye and the way our brains work, the moon seems larger when it is close to the horizon then when it is high in the sky.

[billorites]

Don't mean to thread hijack, but...

Have folks seen this hi-rez flyby of Saturn by the Cassini probe?

[SunkenCiv]

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[stayathomemom]

Reminds me of this:

Princess Lenore was awake, and she was glad to see the court jester, but her face was very pale and her voice very weak.

"Have you brought the moon to me?" she asked.

"Not yet," said the court jester, "but I will get it for you right away. How big do you think it is?"

"It is a little smaller than my thumbnail," she said, "for when I hold my thumbnail up at the moon, it covers it."

"And how far away is it?" asked the court jester.

"It is not as high as the big tree outside my window," said the princess, "for sometimes it gets caught in the top branches."

"It will be very easy to get the moon for you," said the court jester. "I will climb the tree tonight when it gets caught in the top branches and bring it to you."

Then he thought of something else. "What is the moon made of, princess?" he asked.

"Oh, " she said, "it's made of gold, of course, silly."

From Many Moons by James Thurber

[TheOldLady]

I miss sig226 and the APOD too.

[Rebelbase]

I saw on like that in the California desert once. Doesn’t seem real.

[The Cajun]

Pretty picture, but not what the human eye alone would see.
More art than actual, but pretty.

[SIDENET]

What happened to sig226?

[dragnet2]

Don't believe it.

However, if you look close, at the lunar limb, on lower right side, you'll see a star...

It's a very special star.

[NorwegianViking]

I can't post the picture, but it is almost a similar shot of the Super Moon and the Lincoln Memorial. Both have very similar building styles . The Lincoln Memorial looks like it has 12 columns rather than eight. It is also a beautiful shot and maybe there is something philosophical here. http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/5541053611/

[submarinerswife]

[gleeaikin]

I have seen the moon look that big and even larger as it was rising out of the ocean in front of Chincoteague, VA. A few hours later when up above, it would look normal sized. Some are complaining that the predicted catastrophic earthquakes have not happened. They could easily happen in the next 2 to 4 days, or the Japanese earthquake could have been the major expression as it was leaving the new moon phase, and almost as close with double the pull on one side of the earth.

[TheOldLady]

I don't know. He said this and has not posted since.

He hadn't done the APOD for a couple of days either.

Siggy, if you're lurking, we miss you.

[Condor51]

*** That photographer had to know when to be there and exactly where to be to get this perfect shot. ... A day earlier or later would not be the same. ***

(Sorry for the day late reply - missed the thread yesterday)

No trick to knowing that info. It's pretty easy to obtain. Almost any Astronomy Website and even 'Weather Underground' gives the exact time and location of the 'Moon Rise'. I had my equipment all set up to take from our Master Bedroom Window (Chi Metro Area). I got it all from the 'Weather Underground'. But then, right before Sunset (and Moon Rise), the clouds rolled in --- aaarrrgghhh!!

*** The lighting had to be perfectly balanced as well. ***

No problem with today's Digital SLR Camera and a tripod. My SLR is a Nikon D3000 (note: there's more to that picture that was cropped away). And a Pro will be using a $2,000+ - $5,000 Digital SLR set-up (Nikon or Canon).

Unfortunately, the 'EXIF' Metadata is blocked from this pic so I can't tell what Camera was used, the lens' focal length, shutter speed, or f/stop setting.