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 Propylaea to the Temple of Poseidon Erechtheus at the Acropolis of Athens is realized.

The Erechtheum was built between 421 and 407 BC and is named after one of the Acropolis gods, namely Erechtheus. The southern side is perhaps the most recognized aspect of the Erechtheum, for it is characterized with the stunning Caryatids. The immediately opposite side is dedicated to the Acropolis gods Poseidon and Erechtheus and who fought unsuccessfully against Athena for the privilige of protecting the city of Athens. This (northern) facade of the Erechtheum is adorned with stunning ionic marble columns which grace the Propylaea and in turn introduce the visitor to the Temple of Poseidon Erechtheus itself. 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 apparent diameter of the rising full moon with that of the propylaea.

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
Selene Rising Over the Propylaea of the Temple of Poseidon Erechtheus (421-407 BC)
Imaging Details
Body:
Moon

Mass:
0.0123 x Earth

Mean Eq Diameter:
0.2719 x Earth

Distance:
364,484 km

Sidereal Rev:
27d 07h 43m 11s

Age:
14d 18h 03m

Phase:
99.7°

Diameter:
32.99'

Magnitude:
-12.6

Rukl:
N/A
Date:
Aug 20, 2013

Location:
Athens, Greece

Equipment:
LZOS MC 3M-5CA 500/f8
Canon EOS 350D


Exposure:
1 x 1/80 sec
ISO 400
RAW Image Format
3456x2304 image size
Manual Mode
Servo Mode


Software:
Digital Photo Pro V2.1.1.4
Photoshop CS5


Processing:
Resampling
JPG Compression