The Moon's Nice Tonight

[Greenside]

Beautiful cloudless skies gave a great view of the moon tonight despite the post rush hour air pollution.

Clearest picture I've ever managed.

[kilt]

Beautiful cloudless skies gave a great view of the moon tonight despite the post rush hour air pollution.

Clearest picture I've ever managed.

Taken through a telescope??

[Kan Win]

Great photo as usual "Greenside"

Thank you for sharing it.

Yours truly,

Kan Win

[mackayae]

Say cheese!

[Mapguy]

Greenside, You are an awesome photographer!

[papajohn]

Greenside, You are an awesome photographer!

Great pic, I can see McDonalds Double CheeseBurger to go!

[Greenside]

No telescope, but a lens of about 400mm and a bit of experimentation with the exposure. For anyone interested in astronomy or taking pictures of stuff in the night skies, the CMPG has a presentation by a notable Thai expert at Tuskers on Wednesday and you're welcome to come along. See the website for more details.

I'm looking forward to finding out how to do these kind of pictures properly but suspect it's going to involve frequent trips to somewhere like Doi Inthanon to escape the CM air and light pollution.

[tigerbeer]

Greenside, thanks for sharing. Possible to get a full resolution download of this picture? promise not to misuse it.

I have seen many attempts on other people's blog but never seen such a beautiful picture of the moon. Great Job!

TB..

[keo]

great picture!

I saw the moon on thursday night / friday morning when I was out in the garden, about 4am and couldn't believe how big it was! why I didn't take a picture I have no idea. 4 big Leos probably.

Anyway, tonight is going to be the biggest full moon of 2009. More photos please Greenside!

Saturday Night Special: Biggest Full Moon of 2009

If skies are clear Saturday, go out at sunset and look for the giant moon rising in the east. It will be the biggest and brightest one of 2009, sure to wow even seasoned observers.

Earth, the moon and the sun are all bound together by gravity, which keeps us going around the sun and keeps the moon going around us as it goes through phases. The moon makes a trip around Earth every 29.5 days.

But the orbit is not a perfect circle. One portion is about 31,000 miles (50,000 km) closer to our planet than the farthest part, so the moon's apparent size in the sky changes. Saturday night (Jan. 10) the moon will be at perigee, the closest point to us on this orbit.

It will appear about 14 percent bigger in our sky and 30 percent brighter than some other full moons during 2009, according to NASA. (A similar setup occurred in December, making that month's full moon the largest of 2008.)

High tides

Tides will be higher, too. Earth's oceans are pulled by the gravity of the moon and the sun. So when the moon is closer, tides are pulled higher. Scientists call these perigean tides, because they occur when the moon is at or near perigee. (The farthest point on the lunar orbit is called apogee.)

This month's full moon is known as the Wolf Moon from Native American folklore. The full moon's of each month are named. January's is also known as the Old Moon and the Snow Moon.

A full moon rises right around sunset, no matter where you are. That's because of the celestial mechanics that produce a full moon: The moon and the sun are on opposite sides of the Earth, so that sunlight hits the full face of the moon and bounces back to our eyes.

At moonrise, the moon will appear even larger than it will later in the night when it's higher in the sky. This is an illusion that scientists can't fully explain. Some think it has to do with our perception of things on the horizon vs. stuff overhead.

Try this trick, though: Using a pencil eraser or similar object held at arm's length, gauge the size of the moon when it's near the horizon and again later when it's higher up and seems smaller. You'll see that when compared to a fixed object, the moon will be the same size in both cases.

More lunacy

If you have other plans for Saturday night, take heart: You can see all this on each night surrounding the full moon, too, because the moon will be nearly full, rising earlier Friday night and later Sunday night.

Interestingly, because of the mechanics of all this, the moon is never truly 100 percent full. For that to happen, all three objects have to be in a perfect line, and when that rare circumstance occurs, there is a total eclipse of the moon.

A departing fact: The moon is moving away as you read this, by about 1.6 inches (4 centimeters) a year. Eventually this drift will force the moon to take 47 days to circle our world.

[adjan jb]

After reading the last post I went outside. It's only 6:25 PM but it's already beautiful.

[papajohn]

After reading the last post I went outside. It's only 6:25 PM but it's already beautiful.

Cold hearted orb that rules the night,

Removes the colors from our sight,

Red is grey and yellow white,

But we decide which is right.

And which is an illusion ?

"Late Lament"--Nights in white satin,

Moody Blues

[Ricardo]

It was indeed a beautiful sight, but it hurt my neck muscles, having to look up so high in the night-sky to see it.

Could not the government or U.N. pass a new law, or international-treaty perhaps, to make the moon stay closer to the horizon and hence easier to view ? This might assist local tourism !

Edited January 11, 2009 by Ricardo

[papajohn]

It was indeed a beautiful sight, but it hurt my neck muscles, having to look up so high in the night-sky to see it.

Could not the government or U.N. pass a new law, or international-treaty perhaps, to make the moon stay closer to the horizon and hence easier to view ? This might assist local tourism !

You have to get off the bar seat to enjoy the view! Don't hurt yourself!

The UN could pass a resolution but like most resolutions from the UN it

is worthless.