Our closest celestial neighbour has kept us company for at least four billion years and has entertained our imagination in a variety of ways. It certainly has been involved in our maturation as a species with man's first step on a body beyond our planet during the latter part of the twentienth century and will, inevitably, be our first stop prior to any sort of manned travel to a further celestial body such as Mars. The moon has been a great source of education about our own planet's evolutionary history; it has entertained many inquisitive minds from earlier cultures and generations about the universe in general and man's role in particular; it has enriched the minds of young children taking their first look through a telescope and continues to impact our lives in ways we may or may not readily recognize including tidal forces and various natural rhythms and cycles.

Note: The image below is a follow-up to other similar efforts involving the rising (full) moon near dusk and against well-known landmarks in Greece including archaeological grounds (see here). Such an exercise requires careful planning and execution so that the azimuth and altitude of the rising moon match precisely with the foreground landmark of interest. Also important is the time during late afternoon that such an attempt is executed, for one requires balanced lighting between the foreground landmark and the bright rising (full) moon. Once all of these factors are available simultaneously with respect to lighting balance (full moon and landmark foreground) as well as azimuth and altitude, a result such as the one below involving the Temple of Athena Nike at the Acropolis of Athens is realized.

The Temple of Athena Nike was built between 427 and 424 BC using pentelic white marble. It lies to the immediate right of the Propylaea as one is about to enter the Acropolis and which, of course, is dominated by the Parthenon. The Temple of Athena Nike is adorned with ionic marble columns with four such columns gracing both the front and rear facade. The image below was taken from a distance of approximately 600 meters to the northwest of the Acropolis in an effort to match as closely as possible the rising perigee full moon and the temple itself. Particular attention is warranted to the foreground shadows of summer romantics watching the perigee full moon rise.

Note: For additional photos of the rising moon from the same session as well as photos of the sun and/or full moon against other well-known Greek archaeological grounds and sites, please click here.