Full Moons
There has always been something magical about the full moon. It can appear large or small depending on its position in the sky and distance from earth. A micromoon occurs when the moon is farthest from the earth and a supermoon happens when it is closest to the earth. Traditionally, full moons are given special names based on the month.
- January is the Wolf moon
- February is the Snow moon
- March is the Worm moon
- April is the Pink moon
- May is the Flower moon
- June is the Strawberry moon
- July is the Buck moon
- August is the Sturgeon moon
- The fall equinox moon is the Harvest moon
- September is the Corn moon
- October is the Hunterโs moon
- November is the Beaver moon
- December is the Cold moon
You may notice that craters and landmarks look different in the full moon compared to other phases. This is because with full illumination, most of the contrast comes from differing materials on the surface as shadows are minimized. In other phases, the suns angle casts shadows that provide detail.
The term supermoon refers to a full moon that occurs when the moon is at perigee in its orbit (closest to the Earth). The closer distance makes it appears slightly larger.
Images
Another moon shot taken with the power-packed combination of the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25 and a Sony A7R IV mirrorless camera.
2024-02-23
The Last Harvest: a cloudy moon in Newport
I couldn't let a silly thing like clouds ruin my chance to photograph the last supermoon of 2023! This is the Harvest Moon.
2023-09-28
The strawberry moon is the first full moon of June. It marks the season when strawberries begin to ripen for harvest. It also signifies the transition from spring to summer. Happy summer, everyone!
2023-06-04
The strawberry moon is the first full moon of June. It marks the season when strawberries begin to ripen for harvest. It also signifies the transition from spring to summer. Happy summer, everyone!
2023-06-04
A supermoon occurs when the moon's orbit brings it closer to Earth, so it appears bigger and brighter. The July supermoon is expected to be the brightest of the year. It's called the Thunder moon because it heralds the season of thunderstorms in the North American summer. This is a mosaic taken from four zoomed shots.
2022-07-13
This image of the moon was stacked from multiple images taken while it was behind clouds. The detail of the moon popped out to make it appear to float above the clouds.
2022-03-16
This image of the moon was stacked from multiple images taken while it was behind clouds. The layering of clouds give it an embossed appearance.
2022-03-16