Waning Crescent Moon Rising over Twin Peaks-26 Feb 2022
Moon five days before new phase. The crescent’s features, which are visible to the naked eye, are blown out in photo. But earthshine lights up the “darkside” to show some features. Venus is visible at the far left edge as it rises north of Mt. Olympus. The artificially illuminated Brickyard chimney mugs in the foreground. I like how the Moon lights up the blowing snow on Twin Peaks’ crest.
Endnotes
- The temperature was 14 degrees Fahrenheit (-10 degrees Celsius) when I took this photo, but it was totally worth the discomfort. It was so cold that the camera battery stopped working after 20 minutes. I lasted only a few minutes longer and then went back to bed.
- The Moon was in the Teapot asterism of Sagittarius.
- Most of the stars in this photo are 100 to 500 light years away. One the stars is 1864 light years away. I mention the distances to demonstrate the infinite depth and the virtual emptiness of space.
- Camera: Nikon Z6 on tripod. Settings: 0.77 sec., f2.8, 105mm, ISO 8000. Single JPEG exposure. Developed in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic.
Best regards,
Michael DeCaria
Hosting often overlooked wonders with photography and writing