We're Moving!

 Standing on top of the hill in the neighborhood cemetery, the morning was quiet. In the valley below, a few cars were on the road but there were no sounds. The sky above was full of stars.

    Behind me, Orion was sinking into the trees with the bright orange planet Mars sitting above. To “his” right was Aldebaran and to the left Sirius.  The constellations Gemini and Auriga were above. High overhead was Leo. It was like a winter night.

    In front of me, in the ESE, was where I was concentrating. I was waiting for the thin crescent moon to rise over the horizon. Approximately 3% illuminated, this will be my last chance to see the moon before the new moon, tomorrow.

    The Big Dipper’s handle led me down to Arcturus, a bit lower and off to the right was Spica. The moon would be rising below the pair. The time I had for Moonrise was 5:37. I started searching the horizon a few minutes earlier even though I knew it would appear about 5-7 minutes after the stated time.

    The camera was sitting on its tripod, the lens focused and pointing towards where I thought the moon would show up. An approximate time was set for the exposure, all I needed now was the moon!

    Below me, I saw the silhouette of a person walking on one of the roads through the cemetery, his flashlight flickering as he walked behind the monuments. I wondered if he would pass me but he took a different road. Beside him and a single deer I saw as I arrived, I was the only living thing here…

    Scanning my binoculars back and forth, I spotted the illuminated tip of the crescent at 5:44, seven minutes after the predicted time. I went over to the camera and started shooting. The moon appeared right where I had aimed the camera!

    I always find it fascinating to watch as any celestial object comes over the horizon. To see the motion of these objects is exciting to see. Being so close to the horizon, the motion is that much more noticeable! I was watching the earth spin and to a lesser amount, the moon orbiting the earth! Evidence of the coming sunrise was visible on the moon. How cool is that?

    Coming home, Orion was well below the trees, the planet Mars was tangled in their branches. Only a few stars were still visible but off in the east, the thin orange crescent was still visible. A half hour later, it had disappeared in the brightening sky, gone except for in my memory!

An Exercise in Futility?

I like taking pictures of the moon. I’ve always imagined taking a photograph which would include a group of shots of the moon as it rises up over the horizon, all on one photo. The near-by cemetery is a perfect spot for such an attempt. The view to the east is across a wide valley and the horizon is fairly close to being level. The next morning, the moon would be rising while the sky was still dark and it would be a nice sized crescent, perfect for an attempt!

    (Tuesday 8.23.22) I woke up around 1:40 and when I looked outside, there were numerous stars visible in the sky. I got dressed, put some day-old coffee in my travel mug and loaded my camera gear in the car. The cemetery is only about 3 minutes away, I only got one sip of coffee before I had arrived.

    I set my tripod up, made sure all the joints were tightened and the legs were solid. The camera was leveled and manually focused on infinity. I took a couple shots to determine what exposure I should use and then I got out my compass to determine where the moon would be rising. (54 degrees from north, give or take) I centered the camera there and then waited.

    A large cloud was gathering in the valley below, extending into the sky and obscuring the horizon towards the south-east. The area I was concerned with was still clear. I had about 10 minutes until moonrise.

    While waiting for the magic moment, the clouds started moving towards my target area. When the clock showed 2:38AM, moon-rise, my site was hidden by the mists. 

    I used my binoculars to scan the top of the hillside, going well past the place where I had guessed it would appear. I took a couple more test shots, being sure to check my lens for moisture. The cool air and the humidity had given it a slight coating and I carefully cleaned it off before each shot.  Still, no moon was visible.

    The moon simply wasn’t bright enough to be seen through the fog. Being only 15% illuminated, it was hidden by the clouds which were getting thicker. I could still see the lights of houses on the hill and I had my fingers crossed. I kept scanning the hilltop for any possible sign of the moon, with no luck. After 30 minutes had passed, I finally gave up my search. 

    I took one more shot before tearing down the set-up.  This morning was a wash but there was always tomorrow morning, the weather forecast looks a little better. The moon will be rising around 3:36, but it will be even smaller, only 9% illuminated, even tougher to see! We'll see what tomorrow will bring!

    I will get this shot...eventually!

    (Wednesday 8.24.22) The alarm went off a little before 3. With some fresh coffee in my travel mug I headed out to the car.  My camera gear was already there. Overhead there were lots of stars, I was feeling hopeful.

    There were some clouds visible in the west as I set up and wouldn’t you know it, they covered the sky 10 minutes before moonrise. Not even Jupiter was visible. Still, I kept my hopes up.

    At 3:36 most of the clouds had passed by and behind me the sky was once again covered with stars. I kept scanning back and forth, trying to catch that first view of the moon.

    When it showed up, the first thing visible was the orangish colored dark side. I re-centered the camera and started taking pictures. I took one shot every minute, counting off the seconds in my head. I checked for moisture on the lens before clicking the shutter and was extra careful not to bump the tripod as I did it. 26 minutes later, the moon left the cameras field of view.  I took a couple more shots and then packed up my gear.

    The sky looked great, Jupiter was high overhead, Mars was sitting below the Pleiades, Orion was hanging low near the horizon and Castor and Pollux were sitting above the moon. I spent a little time gazing through the binoculars and got lost in the multitudes of stars that opened up in front of me.

    The pictures all came together well, it was pretty much what I was envisioning. It didn’t come out the way I had planned on Tuesday but on the next day, it all came together.  No matter what you're attempting, keep on trying, it’s bound to work out eventually!

Waiting for the Earth to Turn

 

Crickets chirp,

The stars sit motionless

In the sky.

 

Glances at my watch

Are fruitless,

Never seeming to change.

 

Watching the horizon,

A slight glow

Slowly erupts.

 

The tip,

An edge of

The crescent moon!

 

The camera clicks,

Time speeds up,

The moon dramatically

Rises across a distant hill!

 

The clock slows again

As the earth slowly

Turns towards Venus.

 

Patience…patience…patience…

                                                                                6.25.22    3:20AM

The Deafening Silence

 It’s another rainy day at the library. Sunny one day and the next; it’s too wet to venture outdoors. It is a perfect day to get lost in the written word.

    The only noises heard are faint. No crashing blasts of sound that might startle me, only bits of noise that need concentration to hear or to figure out what they are.

    There are some voices, far enough away to be undecipherable, the knowledge that they come from children is all that comes through. The only other sounds filtering into the space I’m in are a few pages being shuffled at a near-by desk and the gentle tapping from a computer keyboard.

    The windows in front of me reveal what is outside and why I am on the inside. It looks cold, a wet cold April morning. I put a marker between the pages of my book and look out the window, my mind drifting. The sky was clear yesterday, unlike the grey clouds of today which seemed to have settled in. I daze a bit and think back…

    Last night I watched as the just past full moon rose over the horizon. A bit past nine in the evening, houses on the hillside had their outdoor lights on. Some houses were dark and in others, lights illuminated the windows, the owners still awake, perhaps with televisions on or cuddled up together. No cars moved in the neighborhood and if anyone was outside, they were too far away to see.

    Behind their houses the moon was rising. It started with just a faint lightning on the brush stroked clouds. Gradually they brightened and turned orange as the moon came closer to the edge of the world. Soon, a thin sliver of the moon appeared. Slowly it enlarged as it rose, getting bigger and bigger.

    The houses visible in the camera lens seemed small compared to the huge ball of light behind them. The moon appeared even brighter against the darkness of the distant hillside. Inside the houses, the occupants had no idea what was happening behind them. They had no idea the part that they were playing in my evening!

    My camera caught the lights of their houses along with the reflected light of the sun bouncing off the disc of the moon. It was the artwork of our world, the beauty which occurs daily, if we are lucky enough to see it!

    It was only me and the moon. Even without the camera, the moon looked huge against the distant hillside, and in turn, made me feel small standing there all alone.

    The world was nice and quiet as the beauty of the cosmos screamed out in front of me. Sometimes the loudest noises are nearly silent!

    Returning to the present and the silence of the library, I opened my book and returned to my reading.

Moonrise July 4th

9:33PM, handheld 300mm, f9 @ 1/200 sec.