Dark Side of the Moon
Dark Side of the Moon
A thin sliver of a crescent moon sets behind a distant ridge, leaving only the dark side of the moon, illuminated by "earthshine," reflected light from the earth, visible on the moon's night side. How earthshine works is shown on this NASA page: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/12apr_earthshine/ In simple terms, when the sun is on the other side of the moon and we have a dark "new moon," an observer on the moon would see a large, bright, "full earth"!
Compare your local moon set times with sunset times over the next 2-3 days. In very clear skies you may be able to capture the tiny 2% sliver of the crescent moon from 14 to 11 degrees up in the sky from 6 to 6:15pm during sunset on Friday (approximate times here in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere). On Saturday a brighter 6.8% crescent moon will descend from 21 to 18 degrees elevation during a 6 to 6:15pm sunset. There are a number of smart phone apps which can give you the times locally. I find the Star Walk app convenient on my phone.
#starrynights #PlusPhotoExtract
https://picasaweb.google.com/107459220492917008623/NightPhotos#5667950847505408834
this is the most awesome photograph I have seen all day! And that is saying something....because I have seen some wicked stuff today!
ReplyDeleteSo completely beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWow, awesome image!
ReplyDeleteSO amazing!
ReplyDeleteJust blocked and reported Chery Lopl for spamming. About to do the same to Celine Romo.
ReplyDeleteWonderful photo!
ReplyDeleteWas it every 29.5 days period? Start counting.
ReplyDeleteImpressive shot.
ReplyDeleteThis image makes my eyes happy. Period.
ReplyDeleteVery cool shot, Jeffrey Sullivan! And thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteJared Mysko, nothing inaccurate in the description; at the time the photo was taken, the near side was the "dark side."
That photo is simply awesome.
ReplyDeleteWonderful image!
ReplyDeleteWonderful album in total.
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone! I completely missed most of the interesting comments.
ReplyDeleteJared Mysko What I most need to explain fairly clearly to an audience which will spend all of 10 seconds on the image is that the big, bright round thing in the frame is not simply an underexposed shot of a full moon, and then I need to explain why it's actually still pretty bright, in spite of the information I had just provided claiming a lack of direct sunlight. The NASA link and moon shooting forecast for this weekend were bonuses. The title was both descriptive and suggestive of the Pink Floyd album, but I ran out of time to post a link to something from that as well.
What I would love a scientific explanation for is why people use the geometric/geographic reference "same side" as if it were a rebuttal to the lighting description "dark". Maybe the context for that was in the comments I missed (the point has come up before, and yet I have no better description... dark means dark... the portion in shadow).. Anyway, glad you like the photo, and thanks for the added links.
The other side of the moon is "dark" because nobody could see it -- ever (until we managed to get out into space, anyway). It's "dark" because it was a complete mystery until the last 50 years or so. Sure, it would make more sense to call it the "far side" of the moon, but it's a bit late for that. The term "dark side of the moon" simply doesn't refer to the part that's in shadow, because even when it's in shadow, we know what it looks like. There's nothing mysterious about it.
ReplyDeleteYou're asking for a scientific rebuttal, but the answer is in the English language and historically conventional definition instead.
"And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
ReplyDeleteI'll see you on the dark side of the moon.
I can't think of anything to say except...
I think it's marvelous! HaHaHa!"
Ryan Malone I grew up watching the Apollo missions, so it's hardly conceivable to me that anyone would consider the far side of the moon unseen/unknown, or "dark" when it's clearly bathed in light! Surely that arcane usage is going the way of "playing an album" and "making a mix tape".
ReplyDeleteJeffrey Sullivan As you are obviously someone who has a good grasp of the English language, try to tell me with a straight face that English makes any sense at all. I didn't make up the phrase, but it means what it means. It's a poetic term if you ask me. Frankly, it's a lot more beautiful the inaccurate, historic way than if it just means "the part that's kinda shady right now."
ReplyDeleteThe only reason the phrase exists is because it was once mysterious. If we just use it to mean "the shady part," then just say "the shady part." Doesn't sound as good, does it?
For the record, I have no problem with your title for the photo. I'm all for taking some artistic license with the language. I'm only chiming in on the semantics of the term because I'm a writer and this is what I do. :)
ReplyDeleteIn the end, who cares -- an awesome shot is an awesome shot.
Ryan Malone I appreciate the explanation. I was truly confused. In all my years on the planet I had never understood the "dark side of the moon" to mean the far (and often perfectly sunny) side. Mystery solved. Now I'm curious to know where it came from... here's something.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-dark-side-of-the-moon.htm
There are two different meanings for the phrase “the dark side of the moon,” when one is discussing astronomy rather than Pink Floyd. In the technical sense, astronomers use it to refer to the side of the moon which is not illuminated by the sun. The location of the dark side of the moon changes depending on where the moon is in its orbit. Some people mistakenly mention the dark side of the moon when they mean to refer to the far side of the moon, the side of the moon which we never see from Earth due to a trick of the relationship between the moon and the Earth.
As the moon orbits the Earth, different parts of it are illuminated by sunlight. When the moon is between the Earth and the sun, it appears entirely dark, and as it moves, more of its surface reflects light, causing the moon to appear to grow in size until it becomes full, entirely illuminated by the sun. When the moon is full, the dark side of the moon is also the far side of the moon, but otherwise the two terms are not interchangeable. As the moon moves out of full, it wanes or dwindles in size until it becomes dark again, and the far side of the moon is the side which is totally illuminated, although we cannot see it.
The confusion between the dark side of the moon and the far side of the moon is common. Many people use the term poetically to describe extreme isolation, in which case “dark” tends to scan better than “far.” Astronomers greatly appreciate it when people use the terms correctly, since they do in fact refer to different things..
So...we're both right! :)
ReplyDeleteRyan Malone Jeffrey Sullivan Jared Mysko So what´s the conclusion? " The man in the moon" is mooning us every day "till the sun comes up". Eat that!!:):)
ReplyDeleteImpressive work Ryan Malone
ReplyDelete!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!very well
ReplyDeleteThanks everyone for the enlightening discussion, and for the Pink Floyd references. Music has been infiltrating my thoughts over the last few days. I uploaded a photo titled "Is There Anybody Out There," and it's only a matter of time before one involving the sun or stars gets "Shine On You Crazy Diamond." There's a version of that song that has a long intro that is spectacular when coming upon a dramatic panoramic view. I'll have to go find it on my old shiny round things... CDs I think they're called...
ReplyDelete太帅了
ReplyDeleteLovely view...
ReplyDelete