APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

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APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by APOD Robot » Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:07 am

Image Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore

Explanation: This was a sunrise to remember. About a month ago, just before the dawn of the Sun, an impressive alignment of celestial objects was on display to the east. Pictured, brightest and closest to the horizon, is the Moon. The Moon's orange glow is caused by the scattering away of blue light by the intervening atmosphere. Next brightest and next closest to the horizon is the planet Venus. Compared to the Moon, Venus appears more blue -- as can (also) be seen in its reflection from the water. Next up is Jupiter, while the bright object above Jupiter is the star Antares. Although this display was visible from almost anywhere on planet Earth, the featured image was taken along a picturesque seashore near the city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily, in the country of Italy. This month Saturn appears between Venus and Jupiter before sunrise, while Mars is visible just after sunset.

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by Nitpicker » Mon Mar 04, 2019 5:29 am

Very nice. I can also see the centre of the Milky Way, poking through the Earthly clouds on the horizon.

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by Ann » Mon Mar 04, 2019 7:35 am

The Coathanger asterism.
Photo: John Chumack.
I can see the Coathanger at far left.

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by JohnD » Mon Mar 04, 2019 10:50 am

Gosh, is this Pareidolia or what? I was sure I'd seen that headland somewhere before - and I have, just not on earth!

See: https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap171227.html

John

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by orin stepanek » Mon Mar 04, 2019 12:43 pm

Majestic; to describe the photo! 8-)
Orin

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by elhedl » Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:22 pm

There is one thing that puzzles me about this image. The moon looks almost full in appearance, yet it must be withing a couple days of new moon! Can someone explain this contradiction?

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by Chris Peterson » Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:49 pm

elhedl wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:22 pm There is one thing that puzzles me about this image. The moon looks almost full in appearance, yet it must be withing a couple days of new moon! Can someone explain this contradiction?
In order to capture this image, the Moon is massively overexposed, so you're just seeing the 12% waning crescent as a huge blob. (That's true for Venus, Jupiter, and Antares, as well... all of them are smaller than a single pixel in this image if we could see their true size.) At the scale of the image on the home page, the Moon should be about 8 pixels across. That's what we'd see with a much shorter exposure (which wouldn't show much of anything else). In the image, the Moon is over 12 pixels across, which is that overexposed blob effect.

(The image appears to have been made at about 5:20 am local on 1 February.)
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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by zendae1 » Mon Mar 04, 2019 3:39 pm

Jupiter has a bluer but fainter reflection too. Can't see one from Antares though!

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by elhedl » Tue Mar 05, 2019 1:33 pm

Chris Peterson wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:49 pm
elhedl wrote: Mon Mar 04, 2019 2:22 pm There is one thing that puzzles me about this image. The moon looks almost full in appearance, yet it must be withing a couple days of new moon! Can someone explain this contradiction?
In order to capture this image, the Moon is massively overexposed, so you're just seeing the 12% waning crescent as a huge blob. (That's true for Venus, Jupiter, and Antares, as well... all of them are smaller than a single pixel in this image if we could see their true size.) At the scale of the image on the home page, the Moon should be about 8 pixels across. That's what we'd see with a much shorter exposure (which wouldn't show much of anything else). In the image, the Moon is over 12 pixels across, which is that overexposed blob effect.

(The image appears to have been made at about 5:20 am local on 1 February.)
Thanks for the explanation Chris, that makes sense.

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by info@dariogiannobile.com » Tue Mar 05, 2019 8:04 pm

Dear friend,

I shot with the intent to capture even the Milky Way. Even if the moon was waning at 10-20% of illumination, it was enough to appeare as a unique bright disk.
Unfortunately Antares is too faint to produce a reflection.
Antares could have had warmer colour but in that case the sky would have been almost yellow (light pollution rules) without any color contrast between cold and warm shades which I liked a lot instead.
Clear Skies
Dario

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by oprasnger@gmail.com » Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:14 pm

It has been a sore point with me for years now. Many years ago Arizona Highways began to airbrush any water that appeared in photos taken for the magazine. At first, it was unique, and it was fun to see. However, to airbrush away the beauty of water has become boring, if not irritating. Please give it a second thought. I've been reviewing the photos shown on my NASA website for decades and this is the first time I've been disappointed with one of your presentations. Please reconsider this type of photographic presentation. Water in its pristine condition is beautiful enough.

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Re: APOD: Celestial Alignment over Sicilian Shore (2019 Mar 04)

Post by rstevenson » Sun Mar 17, 2019 5:58 pm

oprasnger@gmail.com wrote: Sat Mar 16, 2019 10:14 pm It has been a sore point with me for years now. Many years ago Arizona Highways began to airbrush any water that appeared in photos taken for the magazine. At first, it was unique, and it was fun to see. However, to airbrush away the beauty of water has become boring, if not irritating. Please give it a second thought. I've been reviewing the photos shown on my NASA website for decades and this is the first time I've been disappointed with one of your presentations. Please reconsider this type of photographic presentation. Water in its pristine condition is beautiful enough.
In a long exposure normal movement of the water will blur it. No airbrushing was required.

Rob

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