I agree, the moon tonight is spectacular, and I'm impressed at your steadiness of hand.
Here in PDX we have rain or clouds 7 or 8 months of the year, so the summertime night sky is quite a treat for us.

I am curious about something (astronomical).
In the Google Images pics below, the image on the right was taken in Iowa,
and the one on the left was taken by an observatory in Sydney, Australia.

But I was expecting that the view of the moon from "down under" would be a vertical rotation.
That is it would be an upside down view compared to what we see here in the US.
If not, why not ?

Took me an hour to work out. Hope I'm right.

The part of the moon that seems "up" to you is dependent on both where you are on earth (lattitude) and whether the moon is near the horizon or at it's highest.

If you are standing on the equator, the bit of moon that is the top when the moon's rising, will be at its bottom when it's going down.

If you are standing near either of the poles, the same bit will always on top. What is top for the "Southerner" is bottom for the "Northerner"

If you are standing at some lattitude in-between, it is a mix of the two effects. When the moon is rising, both persons (say 52 degrees north and 52 degrees south) will see similar bits "up", as they are both looking East. At the highest, they will see opposite points "up". When it nears the horizon again, the two views will converge again as both are looking West.

Nice links:
Lots of astronomy questions answered
Yahoo group on astro photography

you're looking at the same thing from effectively the same place.

try this. pick something in the far distance. A building, in your neighborhood. Now, stand on the sidewalk in front of your house and look at the building. See what it looks like? Good memorize that. Now get a ladder and climb up onto your roof. Look at the same building. Does it look familiar? Why? Because you're looking in almost almooooost exactly the same direction from each vantage point.

Same thing happens downunda. we and they are looking at the same moon, of course, from essentially the same perspective. why would it look upside down? Both of us are looking UP from the ground to see it. if you want see it spin upside down, you'll have to rotate yourself. Just stand upright, moon overhead is physically easiest, and turn in a circle watching the moon. Be careful! don't spill all the moonlight.!!

@Scriv: OK, I follow some of what you say, but it'll probably take me more than an hour to get the rest. Thx.

@ V: I'll be careful... I really don't want to get covered with moon-goo.

Oh dear, moon goo? Is that what he told you it was...?

Thanks for the explanation chaps.
Like LL, I'll still have to think it through any number of times, but it makes sense on an immediate level.

Some of the better photos from my trip to the Wolf Sanctuary of PA on Saturday night. Enjoy!


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1797.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1812.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1799.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1796.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1800.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1844.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1839.jpg


http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x...9/IMG_1866.jpg




And by the way...the fingers feeding the wolf are NOT mine...they belong to one of the volunteers...and still do. :)

very nice!

Some need to get that wolf a toothbrush.

Pretty dogs!

Thanks Tulip but even the ones that look like dogs are at least 60% wolf. I wouldn't want to try to leash one up and take it to PetSmart. :D

That really looks like a neat place. Wolf Sanctuary homepage.

It really is Griff. The wife and I are going back down for our anniversary in October. They actually have a B&B on the property as well.

That's 'cause your wife likes the wolf whistles. :lol:

Damnit...and here I thought it was ME they were whistling at. :blush:

Hihi....I know they're wolves. I just think they look like pretty dogs. :p: