APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Comments and questions about the APOD on the main view screen.
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APOD Robot
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APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by APOD Robot » Sat Oct 01, 2022 4:05 am

Image Lunation Matrix

Explanation: Observe the Moon every night and you'll see its visible sunlit portion gradually change. In phases progressing from New Moon to Full Moon to New Moon again, a lunar cycle or lunation is completed in about 29.5 days. Top left to bottom right, this 7x4 matrix of telescopic images captures the range of lunar phases for 28 consecutive nights, from the evening of July 29 to the morning of August 26, following an almost complete lunation. No image was taken 24 hours or so just after and just before New Moon, when the lunar phase is at best a narrow crescent, close to the Sun and really hard to see. Finding mostly clear Mediterranean skies required an occasional road trip to complete this lunar cycle project, imaging in early evening for the first half and late evening and early morning for the second half of the lunation. Since all the images are registered at the same scale you can use this matrix to track the change in the Moon's apparent size during the single lunation. For extra credit, find the lunar phase that occurred closest to perigee.

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Tszabeau

Re: APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by Tszabeau » Sat Oct 01, 2022 12:55 pm

Just wondering why the frames of the first and last images tinted so red while all the others are black.

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orin stepanek
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Re: APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by orin stepanek » Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:14 pm

StrawberrySupermoonfromChina1024.jpg
Oh! I just liked this photo!
https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap051113.html
Found this in the archives! 8-)
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Chris Peterson
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Re: APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by Chris Peterson » Sat Oct 01, 2022 1:27 pm

Tszabeau wrote: Sat Oct 01, 2022 12:55 pm Just wondering why the frames of the first and last images tinted so red while all the others are black.
Because thin crescent Moons occur when the Moon and Sun are nearly together in the sky, meaning those shots can only be taken in twilight.
Chris

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Re: APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by johnnydeep » Sat Oct 01, 2022 8:39 pm

So, apparently, the first one in the third row is the perigee moon on Aug 12?
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Sa Ji Tario

Re: APOD: Lunation Matrix (2022 Oct 01)

Post by Sa Ji Tario » Sat Oct 01, 2022 11:57 pm

The perigee is the moon of August 10, the one of August 12 is the full moon

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