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Credit & Copyright: Giacomo Venturin
Explanation:
Known to some in the northern hemisphere as
December's
Cold Moon or
the
Long Night Moon,
the last full moon of 2023 is rising in this surreal mountain and skyscape.
The Daliesque scene was captured in a single exposure with a camera and
long telephoto lens near Monte Grappa, Italy.
The full moon is
not melting, though.
Its stretched and distorted appearance near the
horizon is caused as refraction along the line of sight
changes and creates shifting images or
mirages of the bright lunar
disk.
The changes in atmospheric refraction correspond to
atmospheric layers
with sharply different temperatures and
densities.
Other effects of atmospheric refraction produced by the long sight-line
to this full moon rising include the thin red rim
seen faintly on the distorted lower edge of the Moon
and a thin
green rim along the top.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: Moon
Publications with words: Moon
See also: