Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                 2020 May 7

                            Analemma of the Moon
                  Image Credit & Copyright: Gyorgy Soponyai

   Explanation: An analemma is that figure-8 curve you get when you mark
   the position of the Sun at the same time each day for one year. But the
   trick to imaging an analemma of the Moon is to wait bit longer. On
   average the Moon returns to the same position in the sky about 50
   minutes and 29 seconds later each day. So photograph the Moon 50
   minutes 29 seconds later on successive days. Over one lunation or lunar
   month it will trace out an analemma-like curve as the Moon's actual
   position wanders due to its tilted and elliptical orbit. To create this
   composite image of a lunar analemma, astronomer Gyorgy Soponyai chose a
   lunar month from March 26 to April 18 with a good stretch of weather
   and a site close to home near Mogyorod, Hungary. Crescent lunar phases
   too thin and faint to capture around the New Moon are missing though.
   Facing southwest, the lights of Budapest are in the distance of the
   base image taken on March 27.

                     Tomorrow's picture: pixels in space
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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