June 23, 2005
In the grand ledger of cosmic time, a human life is breathtakingly brief. But brevity is not insignificance.
Moonrise, Cape Sounion, Greece
Birthday · June 23, 2005
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APOD published June 23, 2005. Credit: Anthony Ayiomamitis. A publication-date match, not a photo taken on your date. Independent of NASA.
The Moon was full this month on June 22nd, only a day after the northern hemisphere's summer solstice. Since this solstice marked the northernmost point of the Sun's annual motion through planet Earth's sky, the full Moon rising near the ecliptic plane opposite the Sun was at its farthest south for the year. Only a month earlier, on May 23rd, astronomer Anthony Ayiomamitis recorded this picture of another southerly full Moon rising above Cape Sounion, Greece. The twenty-four hundred year old Temple of Poseidon lies in the foreground, also visible to sailors on the Aegean Sea. In this well-planned, single exposure, a long telephoto lens makes the Moon loom large, but even without optical aid casual skygazers often find the full Moon looking astonishingly large when seen near the horizon. That powerful visual effect is known as the Moon Illusion.
Image credit: Anthony Ayiomamitis