Comments on: Deflated Supermoon

By: Clay

Clay — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:28:26 +0000

@Ed – This is the explanation I was searching for. This post and the previous one don’t really describe the effect as thoroughly as I wished. See for example:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2011/01/21/squishy-moonrise-seen-from-space/
“So the light from the bottom gets bent more, in this case, up.” The light simply isn’t bent up no matter how you think about the problem (well unless you stand on your head). It’s more about which rays from the moon form the image on the camera, and the effect of the atmosphere changes which rays form that image. It’s not because the rays at the bottom are bent up and the rays at the top are bent downward – if that happened it would cause magnification or a taller moon!

By: Wie der Supermond auf der ISS aussah - GIZMODO DE - Das Gadget-Weblog

Wie der Supermond auf der ISS aussah - GIZMODO DE - Das Gadget-Weblog — Tue, 08 May 2012 09:00:52 +0000

[...] Atmosphäre der Erde hat das Licht des Mondes gebogen und herauskam dieses pilzähnliche Gebilde. [Bad Astronomy, Foto: NASA][Oliver Schwab / Casey Chan] Kategorien: Gizmodo BuzzTags: ISS, Supermond Diesen [...]

By: Scott Davis

Scott Davis — Tue, 08 May 2012 03:16:16 +0000

Every photo taken in the iss is blog worthy.

By: Gizmodo Australia » Seeing A Deflated Supermoon Shrinks My Brain

Gizmodo Australia » Seeing A Deflated Supermoon Shrinks My Brain — Tue, 08 May 2012 00:30:20 +0000

[...] Astronaut André Kuipers snapped a shot of the deflated supermoon when it was closest to Earth. According to Bad Astronomy, “the Earth’s atmosphere bends light from the moon, acting like a lens, pushing the bottom part of the moon up into the top.” Looks like a mushroom. Or a UFO. Or something from Star Wars. Anything but our moon. [Bad Astronomy] [...]

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Mon, 07 May 2012 23:18:52 +0000

There’s something about this image that reminds me of a mylar party balloon. It’s way too vertically flattened for that, but otherwise…

By: Sawdust Sam

Sawdust Sam — Mon, 07 May 2012 20:28:40 +0000

Told you – the moon *is* a balloon!

By: mike burkhart

mike burkhart — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:48:48 +0000

Are you sure thats the moon ? I looks like the ufo from space invaders. You have heard me make refrence to space invaders , for those who were born after the gloden age of video games (1978-1986) .Space invaders was a video game licened by Midway from Tato company of Japan , in it the player moved a laser fireing “tank” left and right on the bottom of the screen defening the Earth from a formation of aliens and avoiding the boams they droped. The aliens (supose to be ships but look like living creatures) marched left and right across the screen decending a level each time they got to the edge if any land ,game over, ocasionly a saucer shaped craft (leader?) would fly across the top of the screen worth random points you had to shoot the invaders and the saucer wile oviding there boams you could take shelter in 4 bunkers that is untill there shot away. Space invaders appered in arcades in 1978 and was the frist mega hit acradc video game (there were arcade video game before starting with Computer space in 1971 and some were hits like Pong in 1972 ) Space invaders launced the golden age that lasted untill 1986 when the video game market crashed but quickly recovered . The game had been copied and ripedoff and fetured on many home consual video game systems.

By: Regner Trampedach

Regner Trampedach — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:22:56 +0000

Nice post, BA.
And does André normally wear a belt? I hear they found it in the outskirts of our solar system… (sorry André – couldn’t help it – and thanks for a very nice picture!).
Cheers, Regner

By: Ed

Ed — Mon, 07 May 2012 16:15:58 +0000

@Clay,

The light is bent as you say. Rays from the top¹ of the Moon are bent downwards a bit so by the time they reach your eye they are pointing slightly down so, looking back along the beam, the top of the Moon appears higher than it would if the atmosphere was not there.

Rays from the bottom of the Moon go through, as you say, denser air and are bent even more so the bottom of the Moon appears even higher above where it would without air than the top of the Moon does. Hence the Moon appears squished.

¹ “Top” being defined by the orientation of the atmosphere between the observer and the Moon.

By: Rayyan

Rayyan — Mon, 07 May 2012 14:54:47 +0000

Wow!

Why the apology? Your explanations in such a fun way always clears things for me.

Thanks a million!

Loved the end bit. hahahha

Of course, our neighbour, The Moon adores Earth and it’s inhabitants. Ever ready to shower us with it’s Moonshine.

Also you are trying to tell people to look up at the skies more often in actual fact (not only when these natural occurances takes place and blown out of proportion, literally ); if only they but understand.

Thanks once again.

Rayyan