Astrophotography by Anthony Ayiomamitis

Lunar Image Gallery - Scenic Phenomenon

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 13th century Byzantine Castle Fyllon is realized.

One of the many castles which characterize Greece's second largest island, Euvoia, is the medieval Castle Fyllon (Κάστρο Φύλλων) lying atop a hill 160 meters above ground level and to the east of the small town Fyllon which sits at the base of the same hill. Also known as Castle Kastelli and Castle Likario, the castle was built by the Venetians in the 13th century AD and is widely associated with the Venetian knight Licario who sought and virtually managed to conquer all of Euvoia on behalf of Michael VIII Palaiologos (1223-1282), Byzantine Emperor of the time (1259-1282), as vindication against the family Carceri who lived on the central portion of the island and who despised him for secretly marrying their daughter. Following the completion of his final military campaign in Euvoia and upon his consequent return from Constantinople, he ultimately chose the castle lying atop the 160-meter tall hill Fyllon as his home and where he remained until the end of his life. His death is shrouded with some mystery and, according to legend, he was poisoned by his beautiful lover from Chalkida, Euvoia. When the island of Euvoia was later invaded by the Ottomans, two of the walls of Castle Fyllon were purposely destroyed so as to render the castle useless. It has remained in this form to this day with the northern and eastern sides totally obliterated.

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.


Image Details
Supermoon 2014 Over Castle Fyllon (Euvoia)
Imaging Details
Body:
Moon

Mass:
0.0123 x Earth

Mean Eq Diameter:
0.2719 x Earth

Distance:
356,896 km

Sidereal Rev:
27d 07h 43m 11s

Age:
14d 17h 44m

Phase:
99.8°

Diameter:
33.56'

Magnitude:
-12.6

Rukl:
N/A
Date:
Aug 10, 2014

Location:
Fylla,
Euvoia, Greece


Equipment:
Takahashi FSQ 106/f5
Canon EOS 5D Mark I
Baader UV/IR-Cut Filter


Exposure:
1 x 1/30 sec
ISO 100
RAW Image Format
4368x2912 image size
Manual Mode
Servo Mode


Software:
Digital Photo Pro V2.1.1.4
Photoshop CS5


Processing:
Resampling
JPG Compression