Tuesday, October 21, 2008

The Many Faces Of The Hunter's Moon


October's Full Moon is called the Hunter's Moon because it provided light to the early Native Americans to hunt their prey in preparation for the coming winter months. Actually the September, October and November Moons hang high and long in the Northern Hemisphere's night sky for a couple of reasons.


One is because of our changing seasons the Earth's Northern Hemisphere is starting to point away from the Sun and towards the Moon during it's Full Moon Phase, the Moon is opposite the Sun in the sky at this time, and two, the Moon's orbit around the Earth during these months favors the Northern Hemisphere.


So I was able to image the Moon from daytime, to evening wispy clouds, to cloudy skies, to clear skies, all in one night.




Winter is fast approaching as well for the Phoenix Lander. The lander is now working on it's 145 Martian day and is slowly loosing the Sun's energy it needs to power it's instruments as the Sun is setting earlier every day behind the horizon. The lander's robotic arm delivered yet another sample to one of it's ovens for analysis , they are trying to get as much done before the lander finally shuts down. The Phoenix Lander has accomplished a lot, from it's rocket landing, to studying the climate of Mars and seeing falling snow for the first time on another celestial body to actually finding ice water, an extremely successful mission.

I'll leave you with a clip I put together of the October Full Moon Rise, comprised of 126 images over a real time frame of 10 minutes.

50 comments:

Ruth said...

I am so impressed with your moon photos, Bob. I do love how the moon was hanging low and long the other night when we came home and saw it rise - for a split second above the trees on the horizon. Gladly here I could watch it for 4 minutes. Thanks! :D

Swubird said...

Bob:

Stupendous shots of the moon as always. It also looks cold up there.

Will Phoenix come back to life next summer, and resume work?

Happy stargazing.

Peggy said...

I love those moon photos. And I'll definitely be keeping an eye out on your blog! I find this fascinating.

and, thank you for the comment on my photograph. :)

Anonymous said...

absolutely tremendous photos! i like them very much! :)

Anonymous said...

Magical! I have learnt so many new things from this blog.

Bob Johnson said...

Why thank you Ruth, I love when it rises during the day, very colorful.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks swubird, it is getting colder, have to keep remembering to wear my winter jacket and gloves.

Hard to say about the Phoenix, we can only hope for it to work again come summer, they do build things at NASA to last.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Peggy, I loved your photography, and of course when I saw the Moon I was so impressed.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks zsygab, glad you like the shots.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks for dropping by rani.\m/\m/

Sherer said...

Wow that was a really cool video - must have taken some time to put that together. I apprecaite it.

I am excited it may soon be time to see if I can get some pics of the daytime crecent! should be great.

Thanks for the education/entertainment as usual.

Jesse \m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/\m/

kml said...

Hi Bob - Your Hunter Moon is gorgeous - love the color! See you have joined EC - it's so addicting. I will make sure to get you tomorrow - my 300 are gone for the day.

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Jesse, those videos take a few hours to put together but I really love them. I'm looking forward to your entre, as well as some clear skies here, been sucky big time here.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Kathy, yes it is very addicting, and I am finding some great blogs out there as well, bonus.\m/\m/

Genie said...

Will the Phoenix rise again when the season changes on Mars?

Excellent moonrise!!!!

MYM said...

Wowser wowser Bob. That video is so amazing! You've outdone yourself...and that's saying something because your photos and videos are fantastic.

LuAnn @ BackPorchervations said...

I need to show this to my son. He loves details about space. Wonderful shots of the Hunters' Moon Rise

virtualjourney said...

Expertly done clip, and thanks for the insider info on the Phoenix.
We tend to call it a harvest moon here.

A blazing full moon when I was a child up North was known as a bombers moon - from the war, when enemy aircraft followed the course of the Humber estuary to target the aircraft factories along the river.

Haley H said...

I love the Hunter's Moon. Such a gorgeous site watching it rise. Thanks for the explanation for why it's so pretty. Love the photos.

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks and we shall see genie, keep your fingers crossed.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks drowseymonkey, I knew it was going to be a good one when I started, lots of color, good location and still fairly light out, it was worth the work.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks kentuckgal, and thanks for dropping by!\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks VV and no problem about the Phoenix update. The Full Moons from September to November often all get confused together because of their brightness for just the right occasions.

And wow very interesting about the bombers Moon, thanks for the info.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks haleyhughes, for dropping by and glad you like the clip and shots.\m/\m/

Genie said...

Heck, I'll go light a candle and do a little resurrection voo doo dance for it or something!

S-V-H said...

Excellent photos, Bob!!! And an interesting post. I wish I could see the hunt moon so big and red, like in your first picture! :)

Maria's Space said...

Love the moon. That video was beautiful to watch.

Anonymous said...

Great photos. I can never stay up late enough to enjoy astronomy live. It's nice to see it captured digitally.

Bob Johnson said...

Lol genie!\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Susanne, I wish you all could see it, it was awesome.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks onangelwings, love your name,very cool.\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks christine at geek thoughts, that's why I do the blog so people like you can enjoy the beauty of the sky, day or night.\m/\m/

Don said...

nicely done sir bob! I hereby dub thee: Knight of the Night Sky

Bob Johnson said...

Hey Thanks Don, love it "Knight of the Night Sky, very cool.\m/\m/

PlancksPost said...

Good stuff man! I have a picture of a fat guy giving me the "full moon" if you want if for your collection...?
Just kidding, nice pics!

Bob Johnson said...

Lol planckspost,take pics, on second thought don't, thanks for dropping by.\m/\m/

Anonymous said...

Some great images. Stumbled the post.

Anonymous said...

Time to make a book Bob-your photography is stunning! Great work friend!!

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks very much Richard!\m/\m/

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Aura, when I do you get the first copy,lol, hey you can interview me, I'll make sure to add a couple of haunting images to fit in with your site,lol.\m/\m/

Angel said...

That big moon pic is wonderful! I wish I could get one like that.

Bob Johnson said...

Hey thanks Angel, and thanks for dropping by.\m/\m/

Livingsword said...

Hi Bob….

Is that the top of a scoop of mango ice cream popped up above those tree tops?

Oh thanks for the science on the ice cream it doesn’t melt because the tilt of the Earth means it is getting colder up here in the Great White North Ice Cream Shop….got it….

I love the wispy cloud image!!! Great for Halloween…

Hi Bob I guess the central issue is that at night the Lander battery will not have absorbed enough solar power to keep the Lander warm in the cold night so it will not wake up in the morning? It is sooo cool to look at these images from Mars!

Wow what a video!

You are the man Bob!

Bob Johnson said...

Lol, thanks livingsword, you're right it looks like an icecream scoop, I love it even more now,lol.

That's right not enough Sunlight to charge up the batteries, plus it is colder and the charge doesn't last as long as it would if it were warm.

Great you liked the movie with the ice cream scoop, now it is my favorite, as I love mango,lol.\m/\m/

myonlyphoto said...

Wow, these are amazing moon photos Bob, love the one behind the clouds, can you tell me then what settings you used to get that image? I probably can figure out, but these days, boy I got very little time sometimes, and not very often do we see moon and clouds together here. Anna :)

Bob Johnson said...

Thanks Anna.

I was very lucky with this one as the clouds dimmed the moon so I could go high on the ISO at 1250 and not over expose the moon but lighten the surrounding clouds, the exposure is 1/6 sec, ISO 1250, 300mm lens f 5.6, hope this helps, I find I change settings on the fly a lot to get just the right look, that shot took me 20 others to get it just right.\m/\m/

Shirley Twofeathers said...

that first picture is just awesome - that red moon in the trees looks almost like a dragon egg getting ready to hatch - I love the one in the clouds too...

myonlyphoto said...

Thanks Bob, sounds good. I guess with your 40D you can have more ISO settings, but I can probably use your approximate settings since the skies are not the same, lol, and yes I play with my settings too, but I am slow and by the time I get something, for my luck, the clouds move fast, lol.
BTW have you used your sensor cleaning feature, and does it work. I am itching to get new camera too, but then I will not get my money worth for another year or so....lol...Thanks again for the info. Anna :)

Peter said...

Hi! As I watched the haunting clip of the October Full Moon Rise, I visualised the early native Americans and Australian aborigines watching the very same thing in a time free of easy explanations and intruders. I bet both long for those days again.

Take Care,
Peter

Bob Johnson said...

Well said Peter and probably very true.\m/\m/