Monday, May 4, 2015

May's "Planter Moon"

May full moon (c) John Ashley
May's "planter moon" rose reddish last night due to smoke and dust n the air
Smoke and dust particles (aerosols) painted last night's full moon red and yellow while it was close to the horizon in northwestern Montana. The moon eventually returned to its familiar yellowish-while color later in the evening as it climbed higher and we were looking at it through less atmosphere and aerosols. In this 15 minutes sequence photo, the 99.94% illuminated moon was photographed at 2.5 minute intervals between 8:48 p.m. and 9:03 p.m. I made a little 4 hour hike/bushwhack to place my camera where the moon would rise behind Mount St. Nicholas, in the southern part of Glacier National Park. Then I had to hike/bushwhack back out by moonlight - but I got the photograph.