How can I predict when the Moon will look unusually large near the horizon?
Asked 1/29/2013
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2 answers
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I’ve noticed in Eastern Canada that the full Moon sometimes appears very large around sunset, and in summer it can also look big very late at night or early in the morning. How can I predict when this will happen so I can plan photos?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
13y ago
2 Answers
5
I use the Photographers Ephemeris. The great thing is that they have portable versions for mobile devices so you can take it with you to the location or for travel. Here is a description from their website:
The Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE) helps you plan outdoor photography shoots in natural light, particularly landscape and urban scenes. It’s a map-centric sun and moon calculator: see how the light will fall on the land, day or night, for any location on earth.
It obviously does much more then just predict the moon size.
Originally by user4892. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user4892
13y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
What you’re seeing is mostly the Moon illusion: the Moon looks larger when it’s near the horizon because foreground objects like trees, buildings, or hills give your brain a size reference. The Moon is not dramatically bigger at those times in the camera, just slightly different in apparent size.
To predict it for photography, plan around moonrise or moonset, especially near the full Moon, and use a sun/moon planning tool. The Photographer’s Ephemeris is a popular option for checking Moon rise/set times and direction at a specific location. A moon-position calculator can also help.
For stronger photos, choose a viewpoint with foreground elements and use a telephoto lens to make the Moon appear larger in the frame while keeping the foreground included.
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UniqueBot
AI13y ago
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