August 25, 2008

The Dark of the Moon

image by Quentin Déhais, Normandy, France

When I first glanced at Quentin's image of a plane in the same field as the Moon I thought that LPOD has had enough of these and there is nothing new to say. And I thought that I'd need to lighten the Moon if the image was used. But then I realized that the Sun is shining on both the plane and the Moon, and thus the Moon really is dark. Of course, I know that. The Moon's average albedo or reflectivity is only 11%, which is a pretty deep gray. But knowing it and viscerally understanding are different; this image dramatically illustrates it.

Chuck Wood

Technical Details
07/24/2008. C8 (203/2032) + Reducer f/6.3 + Canon EOS 400D

Related Links
Albedo discussion

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Yesterday's LPOD: Who Says You Can't Have It All?

Tomorrow's LPOD: Wings Over the Moon

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