-
Skypark Moon
Photograph by Cheng Kiang Ng, National Geographic Your Shot
If you looked at the full moon in this photo taken over the weekend at the tip of the Marina Bay Sands Skypark in Singapore and thought, "Gee, that full moon looks bigger and brighter than normal," you would have been correct.
The photo, snapped by Cheng Kiang Ng, was submitted to National Geographic's Your Shot community as part of a weekend hashtag assignment called #supermoon.
On Sunday, our lunar neighbor made its closest approach to Earth for the 2013 calendar year, appearing 8 percent larger and 17 percent brighter than usual. (Read the full story of this year's supermoon.)
At its closest, the full moon clocked in at a distance of 221,824 miles (356,991 kilometers) from Earth. That's a bit closer than the typical distance of 226,179 miles (364,000 kilometers).
But what a difference it made.
"We saw it from the field with fireflies and hay bales. It bleached out the stars," tweeted one poetic fan.
Others used the supermoon as a way to reflect.
"My cat is sad because yesterday's supermoon caused him to contemplate our galaxy's vastness & his smallness within it," tweeted @MySadCat.
Some also marked the occasion by taking photos of the moon in spots all over the world. Hundreds of you submitted your supermoon photos to National Geographic's Your Shot photo gallery. We've rounded up some of our favorites for your enjoyment but would love to see more. If you have a picture of the supermoon and would like to submit it to National Geographic's Your Shot, our editors will consider adding it to this gallery. Please include the hashtag #supermoon.
—Melody Kramer
Published June 24, 2013
-
The Moon in Pune
Photograph by Parag Kokane, National Geographic Your Shot
The supermoon rises over Pune, India, surrounded by a halo of iridescent colors. These lunar halos occur when the moonlight interacts with pencil-shaped ice crystals in high, wispy cirrus clouds.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Moonlight Catch
Photograph by Mason Boring, National Geographic Your Shot
The brightness of the supermoon made it easier for this crabber in Daytona Beach, Florida, to find a good catch.
Tides often rise during a supermoon. If a storm surge occurs, unusual flooding might take place due to these high tides—but fear not: No other natural disasters are connected.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Giant Yellow Moon
Photograph by Βασίλης Μεταλληνός, National Geographic Your Shot
A couple embraces in front of the Old Fortress of Corfu in Greece as the supermoon looms behind them.
In March 2011, the supermoon made its closest approach to Earth in 18 years. (See pictures here.)
Published June 24, 2013
-
Mont Blanc's Moon
Photograph by A. Lwin, National Geographic Your Shot
The full moon rises above the cloud cover over Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps.
Due to the moon's egg-shaped orbit, there are times when the moon is at perigee—the shortest distance away from Earth in the month-long lunar cycle. The term "supermoon" describes a full moon that coincides with perigee.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Grecian Moon
Photograph by Elias Chasiotis, National Geographic Your Shot
While lunar enthusiasts may have ooh-ed and ahh-ed at the night sky this weekend, the supermoon is not a rare event.
The full moon overlaps with perigee about once a year. Here, it's pictured rising over the ancient temple of Poseidon in Greece on June 23.
However, because the moon's orbit varies slightly, each year's supermoon also varies in its distance from Earth. Next year's supermoon—on August 10, 2014—will be even more luminous than this year's because the moon is expected to be even closer to Earth. (See pictures of last year's supermoon.)
Published June 24, 2013
-
Desert Moon
Photograph by David Rankin, National Geographic Your Shot
Seen from Page, Arizona (map), the full moon hangs over the desert.
A supermoon occurs almost every year—but a supermoon coinciding with the solstice does not. That celestial mashup only occurs every 14 years or so.
But if you thought a supermoon brings out "super-effects," think again. There's no connection between a supermoon and the possibility of a natural disaster.
"Supermoons have been happening for billions of years, and nothing particularly special occurs on these dates—except, of course, for a beautiful moon," said Geza Gyuk, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Supermoon Carnival
Photograph by Abdullah Özgün, National Geographic Your Shot
The supermoon looms behind a Ferris wheel in Mudanya, Turkey (map). Photographers all over the world lined up to get their shots of the year's biggest full moon.
Anthony Cook, an observer at Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory, recommends looking for landmarks that can enhance an otherwise-ordinary shot of the moon.
"With a little planning, a distant landmark can add to the scene," he says.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Golden Moon
Photograph by Scott Tully, National Geographic Your Shot
The supermoon shines with a golden hue on June 23 in this image from Connecticut-based photographer Scott Tully.
In general, the most picturesque moments occur in the minutes after local sunset, when the moon rises above the horizon, and then again before sunrise, as the full moon rises or sets at the local horizon.
If you missed this year's moon and plan to shoot next year, photo buffs recommend using a telephoto lens and composing the picture so that a distant landmark is silhouetted by the moon.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Coastal Moon
Photograph by Tom Robinson, National Geographic Your Shot
The supermoon hovers over Coverack (map), a fishing village in Cornwall, England on June 23.
Tides are highest during new and full moons—which means if a storm surge occurs during a new or full moon, then high coastal flooding may occur.
Published June 24, 2013
-
Bay Area Moon
Photograph by Luis Feliz, National Geographic Your Shot
The full moon sets above San Francisco's Bay Bridge on the evening of June 22. (Related: "San Francisco's Bay Bridge Becomes Public Art.")
While many people called the moon a "supermoon," that is not the term preferred by the astronomy community. They use the term "perigee full moon," to describe the phenomena.
Published June 24, 2013
77 comments
Damn, I love all the shots. Wish I had a camera. Our version was just splendid. From my vantage point, I could almost see the whole of Nairobi CBD's tree sky-line. Too bad I haven't a camera with great resolution. But all the same congratulations to all of you who got selected. :)
Fabulous photos! I can´t tell which is the best, they are ALL the best to me. I really enjoy being able to see these sights and will share them with my students at school.
On Golden Moon by Scott Tully.
Lovely Luna. She makes me smile even more now that I know that a local artisan captured her for me to enjoy, Thank-you for her beauty in permanence
Another Connecticut Yankee :D
There should be a correction to the description of my picture. It was a moon set and the moon was not rising, it was setting over the Bay Bridge. Either way I'm humbled they selected my image.
This is what you need in order to make the moon seem large in the frame without using photoshop.
1) A long telephoto lens, typically 150mm and longer
2) Understand that due to light refraction, an optical illusion is created where the moon appears larger while it is close to the horizon during rising and setting.
My shot was not photoshopped in anyway other than to adjust some color balance issues.
This is ridiculous! Of course the moon looks larger when you MAGNIFY it! Take its photo with a 50mm lens on a full-frame DSLR and I guarantee you will not be impressed. All of these images of the moon were enlarged well beyond what you would see with the naked eye. You can make photos like this with any full moon!
The so called supermoon is only the one time of the year when the moon is closest to the earth,it's a little bigger but nothing spectactular.
Supermoon photographed on the morning of Sunday, June 23rd, 2013 in Portorose in the Republic of Slovenia ~ https://plus.google.com/u/0/106027007088899788792/posts ~ My best from Slovenia Rok Dolnicar - www.rok-dolnicar.blogspot.com
Amazing. I never heard of Supermoon until today, is that weird? I just noticed the moon tonight and it's really amazing where I am, just this giant orange orb quite low in the sky - beautiful.
A good article too, I came home & looked it up straight away.
Except that weird final shot with a crudely shaped moon, it makes the whole thing seem like a joke like "photoshop LOL".
Wow!!! I remember very clearly, some 25+ years ago, I was riding around the neighborhood with some friends. We took a turn down a familiar block, and right before us was this huge, orange moon. It looked as though it were actually on the ground; right on the horizon. An unbelievable sight. I thought it was just me. Had I gotten a contact from my friends passing their joint back and forth? It was one of the most amazing sights I had ever seen. Fast-forward about 20+ years, and now I know what that actually was.
Well you know if anyone believes you can take photos of the moon without using photoshop to make as large as some of these photo's then people will believe anything. Firstly you have to take 2 different exposure photos one for the moon and one for the backgound, then use photoshop to increase the size of the moon and merge the 2 photos together through masking. This Bay moon shot is a particularly bad image as it looks like its been badly masked the moon isnt even round and the colours do not even match the scene. How can this be in the top moon shots in national geographic, a big thumbs down from me.
@Amy Leigh Jenner Thank You Amy I am so happy you like it, and I am very thankful to have been selected!
@Jeff Hunter Some photographers use a long telephoto lens and understand that because of light refraction that the sun and moon appear larger while they are closer to the horizon during rising and setting.
@Susan Newton That's why I believe the editors liked the picture, since there was zero photoshop done to that picture and the moon had that weird shape as it got close to the horizon.
@Troy Musson Thanks, i like realistic shots. By the way, thank you and thanks National Geographic editörs for considerations.
@Troy Musson Oh my friend Troy I'm sorry you feel that way, but all that was done that image was small lightroom adjustment and that's it. I can email your the RAW file so you can see it for yourself.
@Troy Musson This is a single frame, captured from a distance of 1,2 miles away from the monument from the right perspective at the right time, with a telescope of focal length of 600mm and 80mm diameter. It is a totally natural without any processing or masking. Of course the moon is not round because it is low on the horizon and distorted by the atmosphere. Capture was made some minutes after sunset and this explains the colors. Photomontage / composition images may look sharper but we amateur astronomers recognize them immediately because they look fake to our eyes.
@Troy MussonTo support your claims I'll just add that during the supermoon, the moon was only 16% bigger than what it usually it. Thus if anyone doubts what Troy is saying please have a look at the moon tonight and imagine it 16% bigger. The difference is very very small.
To add to that some of the editing wasn't even done properly, there are some big gaps in the moon that doesn't resemble craters.
Most of these photos are impossible to be real.
@Troy Musson Read my story of my experience many years ago. It really can appear that big; that orange; that bright.
@Troy Musson I didn't photoshop mine and they're as big as these. Just takes a powerful enough lens and knowing the right camera settings.
@Troy Musson troy, if you ever get a chance, look for my full and supermoon shots. they're big, red, orange , amber and they're all real....no photoshop or tripod, don't own those.....just strong legs, steady nerves and a giant appreciation and awe of nature's wonders. My lollipop moon is in the supermoon gallery as well as some others. Hope you experience a supermoon as it rises over the horizon on a clear night, you'll see....sharon charles cooper
@Tina Johnston @Troy Musson I looked at your images you used the same lens as myself except for the extender the correct settings to capture the moon are 100 iso which you have , 1/125th sec and f8 -f11 the fact you have used more or less 400mm only brings the whole scene closer again there are 2 diff exposures. The moon would have to be almost in collision with the earth the get this shot. and again you can see some manipulation around the moon. Sorry not convinced as its not physically possible with any camera.
@sharon cooper I looked at your images and Im afraid i am not convinced simply for several reasons there are 2 different exposures one for the moon and one for the foreground there is no such camera that will expose for 2 diff light exposures, secondly the camera you used, thirdly you have used 3200 iso in the picture with the forground and a low shutter speed all without a tripod , the moon would just be a ball of light. In one of the pics with the plane climbing you can see the moon through the plane and you cansee pixel manipulation around the moon.Im sorry but I dont know who you are trying to convince.
@Luis Feliz @Nancy Crowley Hi Luis, The moon in your photo is being distorted by Atmospheric refraction this creates a deviation of light from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density. This type of atmospheric turbulence creates a mirage like effect when the moon is close to the horizon where the atmosphere is more noticeably thick and hot. The same mirage effect as you see when looking over the top of a road on a hot day. This is the same reason you see stars "twinkle" in the sky! Certainly this is more evident over a city population where as the moonset shot that I took was in the hills at a rural location where this effect was less evident. In fact the night was so cool and the sky had such good seeing in my location that the effect was almost none.
@Nancy Crowley Sorry you feel that way Nancy, but I took that last image and I assure you that there was no photoshop involved. As the moon got closer to the horizon, it's shape started to change. Not sure if it was due to fog or what. That picture there is straight from the camera, with some light adjustments in lightroom.
@Troy Musson @Tina Johnston @Nancy Crowley Thank you Troy. Yes, the sun was setting at the same time, and I was at least a kilometre away from the houses. I don't know if you know the area, but I was on the foreshore at Newhaven, Phillip Island and the buildings are on the mainland at San Remo.
I'm still learning about manual settings, having been a point and shoot hobbyist for over 50 years. I completed an online photography course earlier this year and have been using manual settings only since then.
I'd googled for best settings to use for the supermoon, and there were so many differing opinions that I decided to just use trial and error. I was fairly pleased with the results and the only thing I did was to crop one to portrait orientation for a different perspective as I took them all as landscapes.
I agree that some of those in the gallery do look impossible but not being an expert, I wouldn't pass judgement :)
@Tina Johnston @Troy Musson @Nancy Crowley No I wasnt suggesting you were thinking we were idiots Im talking about a different image not one of yours, Im thinking that maybe in your shot if the moon was rising and the sun was setting at the same time you could get the same exposure for the moon as the foreground well near enough, and im guessing you must of been at some distance away to shoot full 400mm so I guess your shot is possible and accept that you didnt manipulate anything. Some of the others on here are just plane crazy and wouldnt work, have a look and see what you think of trying to shoot them yourself.
@Troy Musson @Nancy Crowley I don't think you're idiots at all, I just don't like being accused of something I never do. I'm a hobby photographer and my one aim is to take photos that turn out well without being manipulated. Can't see the point of faking photos at all. I take them for my own pleasure and I don't get pleasure from cheating.
@Troy Musson @Tina Johnston No manipulation whatsoever. Sorry, you're completely wrong.
@Nancy Crowley @Troy Musson @Tina Johnston Nancy I looked at your moon shots and agree these were not touched I think you may have cropped the image to bring it closer but thats all and this is more of a true image I would expect to see according to your camera settings - good shots
the last picture they have up there in that list of best pictures is ridiculous... you know that was a botched photo shop attempt. look at the moon is squished and squiggly, yet the rest of the shot is clear and normal. such bull**** to me.
@Troy Musson @Tina Johnston I also took photos.. untouched.. accept in the second photo the sky I had to paint one color because there was grain in the photo that my paintshop pro couldn't remove... but no double exposure on mine.. and u can tell.. I zoomed in 14x to get the first shot of just the moon, and the second picture was at 8x zoom and that is a normal size of the moon above the trees... To me it is sad that the pictures that are clearly phoney get the recognition they clearly don't deserve. even I know the moon isn't that big no matter what camera, lens or aperture is utilized.
@Troy Musson @sharon cooper I believe them...I have a fantastic shot from Bradenton, fl. Except the last one.
From the Archives
Trending News
-
Mystery of Deadly Volcanic Eruption Solved?
Using ice cores, geochemistry, tree rings, and ancient texts, scientists discover which volcano erupted in the 13th century with worldwide effects.
-
First Cloud Map of Exoplanet
For the first time, astronomers can forecast cloudy skies on a distant exoplanet.
-
First Face Found—On a Fish
The extinct animal's face structure could help explain how vertebrates, including people, evolved our distinctive look.
Advertisement
Connect With Nat Geo
Got Something to Share?
Special Ad Section
Great Energy Challenge Blog
Sustainable Earth
-
Help Save the Colorado River
NG's new Change the Course campaign launches.
-
New Models for Fishing
Future of Fish is helping fishermen improve their bottom line while better managing stocks for the future.
-
Can Pesticides Grow Organic Crops?
The Change Reaction blog investigates in California.
