Category: Moon

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Prelude to a Full Super Moon

Prelude to a Full Super Moon

Prelude to a full super moon – what does that mean, anyway? Shortly after 6:00 am on November 14, the “largest” moon between now and 2034 will officially be “full.” The largest this moon will appear at moonrise will be tomorrow, November 13. Some of us who have photographed various moon phenomena find ourselves a little bored with just a bright full moon against a dark sky. Moonrise tommorrow will happen in light. It will be dusk, but not dark. For photographers, that presents an exciting challenge. Today I decided to practice with a series. All the camera settings are the same in this series. The images were photographed from 4:39 pm to 5:00 pm MST. Notice the changing light on the Sandia Mountains. A couple of frames have birds flying through; I left them. I hope you enjoy this “night before the night before the morning of…” in gif format. It loads slowly, and then repeats at normal speed.

super moon
Prelude to a Full Super Moon

You can use this link to find moonrise times for your location.

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November Moon

November Moon

November Moon – The Largest Super Moon of 2016

November Moon – so many thoughts come to mind. I was aware the year’s largest Super Moon will be full on November 14, but will rise the largest on November 13. Yesterday, November 10, driving home around 3:00 or 4:00, I noticed the moon was well above the Sandia Mountains, and still appeared HUGE in the daylight. I did not get a photograph yesterday, but friend Tim Price posted a fabulous shot on his blog.

Today I made a point of being home in the late afternoon. I wanted to try to photograph the moon in daylight over the mountains and fall foliage. Have I ever said how much I love New Mexico?

November Moon
November Moon Over Sandia Mountains, Prelude to Super Moon Full Moon
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Moon and Jupiter

moon and jupiter

Moon and Jupiter: What a Beautiful Pre-Dawn Sky!

Moon and Jupiter are among the brightest objects we see in the night sky. The rising sun, with its brightness, washes them out. Just before sunrise on October 28, 2016, they appeared close together.

moon and jupiter
Moon and Jupiter Just Before Sunrise

The skies here in Albuquerque have been clear at sunrise recently, and I have missed the colors. Today, at first, though, I was a little disappointed to see the moon and stars somewhat obscured by light clouds. As the sun began to rise, however, I was delighted to see the reds, oranges, and blues develop above the silhouetted Sandia Mountains.

I have much clearer images of the alignment of Venus, Jupiter, and Mars from several months ago than of today’s phenomenon. But for sheer beauty, at least to my eye, I’ll take today’s pre-dawn Albuquerque sky.

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Winter Solstice

This entry is part 5 of 10 in the series Persephone's Choice

Winter Solstice: Turn, Turn, Turn

Winter solstice, the day with the least daylight hours in the year in the Northern Hemisphere, is December 22 this year. It also marks the “official” beginning of Winter. Even when I was young, it struck me that Solstice should actually mark the middle of Winter, although I will admit that weather-wise for me, the six weeks after Solstice are usually more wintry than the six weeks before. But, even by mid-January the increasing length of daylight is readily apparent. In my view of Light and Seasons, things would be so much more organized if Solstice marked the middle point of Winter.

So, just because I can, I chose to make Winter Solstice the halfway point in Persephone’s stay in the Underworld, whether her stay is 3 months, 4 months, or 6 months (different versions give different lengths of time).

Seasonal change is a major theme in the Persephone myth, the cycle of life, repeated over and over. I have had the opportunity this year to witness and photograph some remarkable celestial events. The Blood Red Total Lunar Eclipse of September 27, 2015 is one such event that I’ll not soon forget. In this image, the cyclic nature of seasonal changes is represented by different stages of that lunar eclipse, with the totality of the eclipse representing Solstice. The images from the eclipse are real and they are mine. The sequence from left to right is real. The way they are used here comes from my imagination.

winter solstice
Turn, Turn, Turn

 

 

In the dark days of Winter, it would not be unusual for thoughts to turn every now and then to a return to Light. That doesn’t mean those thoughts would be constant or overtake over all others. Just little flashes that occasionally cross the mind.

The Persephone of this picture story, at the Solstice, the halfway mark of her visit to the Underworld, has no regrets.

Persephone
No Regrets
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More Sky Show

More Sky Show with Venus and Jupiter and Now Including the Moon

More sky show with the planets Venus and Jupiter today included a crescent moon at 6:09am MST. Dawns began with crystal clear skies over the Sandia Mountains. The bright object closest to the mountains is the moon; then Venus; then in the upper right hand corner, Jupiter.

sky show
More Sky Show: Moon, Venus, Jupiter over Sandia Mountains at Dawn

Check out Sky and Telescope for celestial events you might want to look for this week. I missed some in the past few days, partly because of cloudy skies and partly because I slept through them. 🙂

As long as I have lived in New Mexico and as old as I have grown to be, I never cease to be amazed at the constantly changing and ever-beautiful skies of my adopted state.

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Blood Red Lunar Eclipse

Blood Red Lunar Eclipse

The Blood Red Lunar Eclipse of September 27, 2015, was indeed spectacular in the crystal clear high desert skies over Albuquerque, New Mexico.

In April of 2015 I had gone out in the middle of a cold night to see the brief one that occurred then. I’m glad I made the effort to see that one, because it gave me an appreciation for everything about this one that led to all of the hype.

This is a time lapse slideshow of some of my images from the eclipse:

 

This gallery of images highlights some of the major markers during the course of the eclipse:

This is a time lapse composite of the spectacular Blood Red Moon lunar eclipse of September 27, 2015, as seen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

blood red lunar eclipse
Time Lapse Composite of “Blood Red Moon” Eclipse on September 27, 2015, Albuquerque, New Mexico

The skies here never disappoint.

I hope you have enjoyed this presentation of images, whether you got to see the eclipse in person and especially if you did not. I appreciate your interest!

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Spooky Full Moon

Spooky Full Moon

Spooky full moon – the words themselves make me think more of Halloween than a beautiful spring evening.

As the moon rose over the mountains, it was initially simply a beautiful moon.

full moon
Clear Sky and Beautiful Rising Moon

Very quickly, however, clouds began to move in, with some possibility of rain overnight. At the first appearance of the clouds, the moon did not appear too spooky.

full moon
Moon and Clouds

But, in a very short period of time, the moon with heavier clouds definitely had a spooky appearance.

full moon
Spooky Moon and Clouds

It really is a beautiful spring evening, although that is not the mood conveyed in the last image.

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Blood Red Moon

blood red moon

Blood Red Moon, April 4, 2015

Blood red moon is an interesting phenomenon that can occur during a total lunar eclipse. Such an eclipse occurred early this morning, April 4, and was visible in Albuquerque.

blood red moon
Lunar eclipse, blood red moon

I had set out my tripod and gotten my camera ready before I went to bed last night, but did not set the alarm. I’m generally awake quite early. Today I did not awaken until 5:20 am, but that actually turned out to be okay.

The totality of this eclipse was short, less than five minutes. By contrast, the length of another total eclipse coming up in September is predicted to be roughly one hour and twelve minutes. That one will not be visible where I live, unfortunately.

However, I did get to see this one on April 4, which made me very happy. An auspicious beginning to this day…

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Supermoon

Tonight’s so called “supermoon,” when the moon is closer to the earth than at some other times, making it appear larger and brighter.

supermoon
Supermoon, June 23, 2013
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