Astronomy Picture of the Day
    


APOD: 2024 January 22 Á Shadows of Mountain and Moon
<< Yesterday 22.01.2024 Tomorrow >>
APOD: 2024 January 22 Á Shadows of Mountain and Moon
Credit & Copyright: Enzo Massa Micon
Explanation: Can the Moon and a mountain really cast similar shadows? Yes, but the division between light and dark does not have to be aligned. Pictured, a quarter moon was captured above the mountain Grivola in Italy in early October of 2022. The Sun is to the right of the featured picturesque landscape, illuminating the right side of the Moon in a similar way that it illuminates the right side of the mountain. This lunar phase is called "quarter" because the lit fraction visible from Earth is one quarter of the entire lunar surface. Digital post-processing of this single exposure gave both gigantic objects more prominence. Capturing the terminator of this quarter moon in close alignment with nearly vertical mountain ridge required careful timing because the Earth rotates once a day.

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
 < January 2024  >
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031



Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)
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: shadow - Moon
Publications with words: shadow - Moon
See also:
All publications on this topic >>