wide field astrophotography
With a radius of 1,738 kilometres (1,079 miles), our moon is the fifth largest moon in the solar system. Orbiting Earth at an average distance of about 384,400 kilometers (238,900 miles), the Moon is planet Earth’s only natural satellite. It is tidally locked to Earth, which means that the length of a full rotation of the Moon on its own axis causes its same side (the near side) to always face Earth.
Sturgeon Supermoon
The fourth and final supermoon of 2022 is known as the Sturgeon Moon. It occurred on Thursday, August 11. This night also coincided with the peak of the 2022 Perseid Meteor Shower. The resulting image captures both the moon and Saturn rising over Owen Sound’s inner harbour (see annotations in next image below).
While the image may represent a beautiful night sky landscape, it was a bittersweet moment as the bright illumination of the supermoon blocked out any real chance of seeing the meteor shower from this Bortle Scale 5 suburban sky.
Nikon D750 | Sigma 70-200mm @ 70mm | 2022-08-11
Fyi: The term Sturgeon Moon originated in Native American culture representing the month when this essential food source was usually most abundant. The term Supermoon describes a full moon when it’s orbit is closest (perigee) to Earth.
Astrometric annotations showing Saturn (which is incidentally making its closest approach to Earth, meaning it will be brighter than any other time of the year) and some of the stars in the constellation Capricornus. If you look closely, you can also see the tail lights of a airplane between the moon and Deneb Algedi.
Two Day Old Moon
The waxing crescent moon (4%) is two days old in the photo captured from Owen Sound's east side.
Nikon D750 | Sigma 70-200mm @ 200mm | 2022-06-01
Halloween Blue Moon
Lens flares create a spooky glow highlighting the full moon on this Halloween night. This was the second full moon of the month with the earlier instance occurring on October 1st. When two full moons occur in the same month, the second is referred to as a blue moon (as in "once in a blue moon"). This is a relatively rare event happening on average only once every two and a half years.
Nikon D750 | WO Zenithstar 61ii 360mm | 2020-10-31
Strawberry Moon
An eerie Full Moon (98% full) over Georgian Bay. The term "Strawberry Moon" comes from a combination of Native American, Anglo-Saxon, and Germanic folklore. It marks the June full moon and celebrates the first strawberry blooms of the season.
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 200-500 @ 500mm | 2020-06-04
Flower Moon
When the new moon (full moon) occurs during the Moon's closest approach to Earth, its perigee, it is often called a supermoon. This moon marked the third and last super moon of 2020.
Referred to as the Flower Moon, the name honours the Native American tradition of using celestial events to trace the seasons. According to the Old Farmer's Almanac, as the month of May is a time when frost subsides and plants bloom in the northern hemisphere.
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 200-500 @ 500mm | 2020-05-06
Maple buds silhouetted against the Flower Moon
When it sits low on the horizon, there’s more atmosphere between us and the moon, and all of those particles have a way of scattering certain kinds of light, like wavelengths in the blue spectrum. This leaves behind light closer to the red spectrum, which is why a moon low on the horizon can sometimes appear more yellow or even pink than one that is directly overhead.
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 200-500 @ 500mm | 2020-05-06
Waxing Gibbous Moon
This 90% full moon was captured 2 hrs and 42 minutes after moonrise (and 3 days before the actual full moon)
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 200-500 @ 500mm | 2020-05-04
The Snow Moon
This supermen is the second in a series of three, and will be the brightest of 2019. Often referred to as the Snow Moon, the February supermen get its name from Native American traditions as it was often associated with the month of heavy snowfall.
Nikon D750 | Nikkor 200-500 @ 500mm | 2019-02-18
