[TONIGHT 12/12/2008] Good time for pictures of the moon

Cabaal

I thought it looked very large this morning when I left the house to drive to work

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7779294.stm
also
http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2008/09dec_fullmoon.htm

The Moon is set to pass closer to the Earth on Friday evening than it has done for the past 15 years.

The Moon's elliptical orbit means its distance from the Earth is not constant.

It will be a little over 350,000km away as it passes over the northern hemisphere, which is about 30,000km closer than usual.

If the sky is clear it will appear brighter and lighter than usual, say astronomers.

Closest path

Friday's full moon could appear up to 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons this year, Nasa said.

Its orbit is elliptical, meaning it does not follow a circular but rather an oval path.

It is currently approaching the point where this oval orbit is nearest to the Earth.

"It's only every few years that a full moon happens to coincide with the part of the Moon's orbit when its closest to the Earth," said Marek Kukula, an astronomer at the UK's Royal Observatory.

"What people will see is a full moon that's really bright and a bit bigger than what they're used to."

Psychological illusion

The Moon is usually about 385,000km from Earth, but tonight it will be closer at around 363,000km.

It will appear largest as it rises and sets, but this is a psychological illusion, Dr Kukula said.

"When it's close to the horizon, our brain interprets it as being bigger than it actually is, this is called the moon illusion," he said.

"The size may be striking when it's near the horizon," said Robert Massey of the UK Royal Astronomical Society.

However, he cautioned against expecting too much.

"The Moon may be brighter and may appear somewhat larger, but it's really quite hard for the eye to notice the difference; the eye will compensate for the extra brightness, it's not like going from night to day," said Dr Massey.

The Moon's brightness varies throughout its annual cycle, during the mid-winter in the northern hemisphere it can appear brighter simply because it is higher in the sky.

GhostInTheRuins

Nice one. I've yet to get a half-decent shot of the moon. I'll definitely have a go tonight, depending of the weather obviously.

Cabaal

Raining here like mad so not looking good for me
grr

mikeanywhere

Lets hope the weather holds out for us as it would make for some cool shots!!

davenewt

Cross all your fingers!

http://www.met.ie/sat/iuk-ir.asp

Arciphel

*page bookmarked for mass mooning later on*

Morrisseeee

If the sky is clear

doh !!

Right, lets see who can get the best MOON shot so !!

mmmm...should I use my polarizer or soft-focus filter ? mmmm.....

Ricky91t

I can get a photo of glowing clouds and large raindrops on the lens....if thats any good?

In kerry theres serious rain so don't hold up mush hope

GhostInTheRuins

Rain and clouds all day. pity!

quilmore

I got one at 5am today


it seems the moon will be in transit at midnight, let's hope the rain and clouds will clear for then

TheNorthBank

Doesn't look good for the South East

I'm liable to drown if I step outside at the moment!!!

Cabaal

pissing rain all day in waterford/kilkenny

kensutz

No way! http://www.met.ie/latest/rainfall_radar.asp

Ricky91t

Well any of you hoping to see it soon,its back to normal now no bigger than your average day hopefully some of you will catch it in the morning

Mycroft H

Its still pissin rain

fanny_mae

Rain cleared in the west already and got out and took this one.

(click for larger image)

whyulittle

Patchy in the Midlands.

TheNorthBank

whyulittle wrote: »

Patchy in the Midlands.

Quality, well done!!

challengemaster

Not so patch in moate, can't even see the damn thing

whyulittle

Clearly shining through the cloud here, and there looks like a big clearance coming too. Should reach you in a while.

Ricky91t

beginning to cloud over now in kerry

l pearse

Jeez it's not easy to get a good shot of the moon with a 200mm. Really need a better zoom....:( Here's a D4 twist.

midnight shot 12/12/08

Thirdfox

And here it is from Atlanta Georgia, USA

Morrisseeee

Caught my moon this morning on da way to work.
They are straight from the camera.

See larger file in Pixie: Nikon 135mm lens on Olympus E510.


and:
Kit lens 14-42mm:

ThOnda

By the way, BBC is interested in pictures of the Moon. I read it here (e-mail address is below the very last picture).

decimal

Sharpened and darkened in Lightroom.



Exposure Time: 0.0008 s (1/1250)
Aperture: f/9.0
ISO equiv: 200
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

dec.foley

some great pics there ..

one question though .. how do you take s shot like that ...

what equip / lens / settings ??????

thanks in advance ..

Morrisseeee

what equip / lens / settings ??????

Answer:

Exposure Time: 0.0008 s (1/1250)
Aperture: f/9.0
ISO equiv: 200
White Balance: Auto
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: Manual
Exposure Mode: Manual

Equipment, usually a D-SLR, digital SLR, & a good zoom lens.
Well, you can forget about metering, just use a (good) zoom lens and yank up the shutter speed ie. above its 1/1250th of a second.

gary82

Got a shot in Galway last night....


Looks a bit odd? - It's actually the reflecting of the moon off the surface of the water on the canal...

Used my Fuji S6500fd. It's only 6MP and I didn't have a tripod (balanced on a railing over the water's edge!) so happy with that one!

It's unedited above, might try bring it up better later on.