A full moon can be an amazing sight in the night sky, but did you know that it can dance?
A new time-lapse video from astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy showed just that full moon He looks like he’s been dancing in the sky for a whole year. No tricks included, just the moon Oscillates in its orbit around the Earth, McCarthy wrote on Reddit (Opens in a new tab)The video was shared as an animation on July 24.
“The observed oscillation of the Moon is called a ‘vibration’ and is the result of the Moon’s not-completely circular orbit,” McCarthy Wrote (Opens in a new tab). “The rotation is due in part to the fact that the Moon’s orbit is tilted at an angle with the ecliptic, as well as the axial tilt of the Earth.”
McCarthy took a picture of the full or nearly full moon from Arizona every month for a year when it was highest in the sky rather than when it was completely full in order to accurately capture the moon’s shaking. He also worked to keep the moon scale showing the same size throughout the video.
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McCarthy also created a video about moon changes during one lunar month, which he shared on Instagram. This video consists of “2 million pictures of the moon over 26 days to see how it was dancing”, McCarthy wrote in that post (Opens in a new tab) From March 9.
McCarthy said in his Reddit post that he’s photographed nearly every full moon over the past three years. You can see more examples of his amazing depiction of the night sky On his Instagram page (Opens in a new tab), where it is published as a cosmic wallpaper. McCarthy is also a professional cosmic background website (Opens in a new tab) Where you can order prints of his astrological images.
McCarthy’s video animation of moon-shaking offers a stunning look at how the moon changes over time from month to month in its orbit. in the middle, The distance from the Earth to the Moon About 238,855 miles (384,400 km) away. Since the moon’s orbit is not a perfect circle, there are places in the orbit where it is closest to Earth and others where it is far away.
At perigee, the Moon is at its closest point to Earth during the month, about 226,000 miles (363,300 km) away. The moon is farthest when it reaches its zenith, about 251,000 miles (405,500 km) from Earth. The Moon is also currently moving away from the Earth at a rate of 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) per year.
We have detailed A guide to observing the moon It can also help you plan the next photo session for Earth’s neighbor on the Moon. If you are looking for a telescope or binoculars to spot the moon, our guides for Best binoculars deals and the The best telescope deals right now A great place to start. our The best cameras for astrophotography And the Best lenses for astrophotography Get helpful tips on the equipment you’ll need to capture your next skywatching scene for yourself.
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