Moon Circles

December 31, 2007

Mooncircles

Provided by: David Lynch, Thule Scientific
Summary authors & editors: David Lynch

Have you ever stood on a pier and gazed dreamily into the Moon's reflection in the water? If so, have you seen that reflection for what it really is? By steadily staring into the so-called glitter patch (left photo) - or better yet by taking a time exposure of it (right photo) - you'll see a luminous tangle of loops and circles that come and go almost too fast to see. Every individual bright spot in the glitter patch is a closed loop. And once you've seen them, they will drive you nuts. You'll find them everywhere a bright light shines on gently rippled liquid: in the bathtub, sink, cup of tea, birdbath, mud puddle and hot tub. For some reason they're especially visible in beer and wine -- possibly champagne too.

Happy New Year!

Photo details: Taken at a pier off Manhattan Beach, California, using a Nikkormat camera with a 55 mm, FL lens and a 2 second exposure. The Moon was in waxing gibbous phase.

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