Lunar Analemma Observed Over Croda Rossa, Italy
September 30, 2019
Photographer: Giorgia Hofer
Summary Author: Giorgia Hofer
Featured above is a lunar analemma, composed of 28 shots, that shows the changing positions and phases of the Moon. The individual photos were taken over the top of the Croda Rossa, Italy and represent the Moon during a synodic month (lunar month or lunation). This is the period that the Moon takes to realign its position again with the Sun and the Earth after having completed a revolution around it. It can also be defined as the time elapsing between a new Moon and the following new Moon.
To capture all the Moon’s phases I needed to devote an entire year to this project because the weather was often unfavorable. Note that the moons in the waning phase, on the left, were captured in January 2017, while the waxing moons, on the right, were captured between July 2017 and December 2017. The position of the Moon from night-to-night, when possible, was resumed every 1491 minutes, or 24 hours and 51 minutes.
In the foreground is a small stone man or cairn that’s used to mark trails for hikers.
Photo Details: Nikon D750 camera. For the landscape shot of 3 July 2019 -- Nikkor 20 mm wide-angle lens; 8-second exposure, ISO 2000; f/4. For the Moon shots between January and December 2017 -- 400 mm telephoto lens: 27 clicks; exposures of 1/250 second.