Selene and Parthenon

November 23, 2007

Selene-parthenon-a

Provided by: Anthony Ayiomamitis, More of Anthony's Lunar Images
Summary authors & editors: Anthony Ayiomamitis, Stu Witmer

One of my most popular photos to appear on the Earth Science Picture of the Day shows the rising full Moon against the Temple of Poseidon at Sounio, Greece. It required 15 months to capture properly. In order to attain a single photo and exposure with just the right lighting and balance, even more planning and patience was needed to capture the full Moon rising adjacent to the famous Parthenon. This phenomenal structure was built between 447-438 BC in what is now central Athens. The Hunter's Moon of October 25, 2007, as shown above, was the closest full Moon to Earth during 2007 and therefore the largest appearing full Moon of the year. The Hunter's Moon of 2007 was fully illuminated at 04:52 UT on Friday, October 26.

This stunning photo showing Selene, the Greek goddess of the Moon, rising, was taken from Philopappou Hill, which lies less than half a mile (700 meters) southwest of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, temple of Athena, guardian of the city of Athens. The camera was a Canon EOS 300d digital camera and zoom lens.