Why does the moon look full in my photos,....

[Jessica Ann Yost]

...so close to the Sun's position? Is this even possible?

First two, taken around May 1st, 2015.
Last one, taken in October, 2015

 

[fresh_42]

Could it be Venus?

 

[davenn]

hi Jessica
welcome to PF

I mis-read your post

that bright spot to the side is likely to be just lens flare ( reflections within the lens system)

you shouldn't be pointing an unprotected lens / camera at the sun
it's a good way to damage things including your eyesightDave

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

Could it be Venus?

It's the moon. I saw it was before I took the picture. I always take pictures of the moon during the day because my camera isn't good enough to catch planets or other stars, unless it is very dark out. Even then, it doesn't catch much else.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

hi Jessica
welcome to PF

I mis-read your post

that bright spot to the side is likely to be just lens flare ( reflections within the lens system)

you shouldn't be pointing an unprotected lens / camera at the sun
it's a good way to damage things including your eyesightDave

It's the moon.

<< Post edited by Mentor >>

 

[Bandersnatch]

So you could see the whole face of the moon despite it being close to the Sun (but very dimly)? I'd say it's Earth'shine then.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetshine

 

[davenn]

...so close to the Sun's position? Is this even possible?

So if you really think this is the moon

of course it's possible for it to be that close in the sky to the sun
the moon occasionally goes in front of the sun to produce a solar eclipse

It's the moon.

I've been glancing at the Sun since I was little. I have 20/20 vision still. I'm 28 years old.

you are really very silly ... highly dangerous activity
Dave

 

[davenn]

So you could see the whole face of the moon despite it being close to the Sun (but very dimly)? I'd say it's Earth'shine then.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetshine

no, think about it ...

when the moon is that close to the sun ... it's close to the new moon phase and it isn't seen, even with Earth'shine
we only dimly see Earth'shine during twilight and darker hours and no way is it bright enough to light up that moon that bright during the day to compete with the brightness of the sun in the sky ... aint going to happen ! period

I personally still have my doubts that it's the moon ... I have seen plenty of lens flare photos just like that

Dave

 

[Drakkith]

...so close to the Sun's position? Is this even possible?

I'd guess that the light from the small sliver of sunlit moon is enough to make it look that bright. Just like the Sun drowns out everything in the image near it, the light from the small amount of visible sunlit side may be enough to drown out the nearby dark area. That's mostly a guess though.

I'd say it's Earth'shine then.

Wouldn't the moon look like that at all times then, not just during the day? I know the dark side of the moon isn't that bright at night, no matter what phase it's in.

 

[fresh_42]

I personally still have my doubts that it's the moon ... I have seen plenty of lens flare photos just like that

And I'm still not convinced that it can't be venus.

But I highly recommend your warnings! Risking to burn your retina no photo in the world is worth it!

 

[davenn]

And I'm still not convinced that it can't be venus.

But I highly recommend your warnings! Risking to burn your retina no photo in the world is worth it!

That is a worthy thought :)D

 

[mfb]

I'd guess that the light from the small sliver of sunlit moon is enough to make it look that bright. Just like the Sun drowns out everything in the image near it, the light from the small amount of visible sunlit side may be enough to drown out the nearby dark area. That's mostly a guess though.

The clouds should be brighter than the moon, but they don't show that effect, they have a high contrast.
Overexposure is also unlikely with those clouds.

Lens flare roughly at the point where the moon is?

What is the angular width of those images?

 

[Bandersnatch]

Wouldn't the moon look like that at all times then, not just during the day? I know the dark side of the moon isn't that bright at night, no matter what phase it's in.

Since Earth'shine is light reflected back from the lit side of the planet, you only get it bright enough to be noticeable when the moon is facing a fully lit day side.

I actually do have the same doubts as davenn, but I'm also giving the OP the benefit of the doubt, and assume she knew what she saw with her naked eyes, so I don't want to dismiss it as just a lens flare.

@Jessica Ann Yost: have you got actual time stamps on those pictures, including time of the day? Maybe they weren't taken in Maryland (your profile indicates this location)? We could then pinpoint more or less where the moon should be and see if its position matches the pictures.
It couldn't have been made on 1st of May 2015, that's for certain - the Moon was then below the horizon on the opposite side of the sky (almost full Moon).

 

[davenn]

@Jessica Ann Yost: have you got actual time stamps on those pictures, including time of the day? Maybe they weren't taken in Maryland (your profile indicates this location)? We could then pinpoint more or less where the moon should be and see if its position matches the pictures.
It couldn't have been made on 1st of May 2015, that's for certain - the Moon was then below the horizon on the opposite side of the sky (almost full Moon).

awesome thought, at least I could put date, time and location into Stellarium and see where moon and sun were on that day

EDIT ... OK just plugged a bunch of locations around the Earth into Stellarium for that day, month, year
and for ALL of them the moon was either in the opposite part of the sky or below the horizon

so we really need real location, date and time. else it can only have been Venus or a lens flareDave

 

[davenn]

Lens flare roughly at the point where the moon is?

some lens flare examples
The result is almost identical to the OP's image

Your Honour

I rest my case
Dave

 

[russ_watters]

It's the moon.

Sorry, it is not. It is way too bright to be a new moon. More telling: the moon was nearly full on May 1, 2015 so it was on the other side of the Earth at the time the photo was taken.

 

[russ_watters]

else it can only have been Venus or a lens flare

It can't be Venus either: way, way, way too bright. You can't see Venus that close to the sun.

It's a lens flare. A couple of observations:

1. In all three pictures, if you draw a line between the sun and the flare, the line goes through the center of the photo.
2. The first two photos are apparently taken within minutes or seconds of each other, yet the position of the sun and "moon" are completely different with respect to each other. They should be aligned and the same distance apart in both if that's what it was.

 

[davenn]

It can't be Venus either: way, way, way too bright. You can't see Venus that close to the sun.

It's a lens flare. A couple of observations:

1. In all three pictures, if you draw a line between the sun and the flare, the line goes through the center of the photo.
2. The first two photos are apparently taken within minutes or seconds of each other, yet the position of the sun and "moon" are completely different with respect to each other. They should be aligned and the same distance apart in both if that's what it was.

thanks for the support :)D

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

So you could see the whole face of the moon despite it being close to the Sun (but very dimly)? I'd say it's Earth'shine then.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planetshine

I don't think it's planet shine. Yes, I could tell it was the moon. It wasn't as bright to my eyes as it was to the lens of the camera, but looked like an almost full moon. I've never seen planet shine like that..

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

no, think about it ...

when the moon is that close to the sun ... it's close to the new moon phase and it isn't seen, even with Earth'shine
we only dimly see Earth'shine during twilight and darker hours and no way is it bright enough to light up that moon that bright during the day to compete with the brightness of the sun in the sky ... aint going to happen ! period

I personally still have my doubts that it's the moon ... I have seen plenty of lens flare photos just like that

Dave

I agree about the Earth shine. I can't explain why the moon is glowing so brightly in such a position close to the sun's side of earth. The shadow should have been on our side of the moon. I've seen lens flare too. But I saw that moon before taking the pictures.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

I'd guess that the light from the small sliver of sunlit moon is enough to make it look that bright. Just like the Sun drowns out everything in the image near it, the light from the small amount of visible sunlit side may be enough to drown out the nearby dark area. That's mostly a guess though.
Wouldn't the moon look like that at all times then, not just during the day? I know the dark side of the moon isn't that bright at night, no matter what phase it's in.

It's in new moon phase position.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

And I'm still not convinced that it can't be venus.

But I highly recommend your warnings! Risking to burn your retina no photo in the world is worth it!

Venus doesn't look that big to me. And it looked like the moon, without the camera, so. Was Venus very close in early May 2015?

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

And I'm still not convinced that it can't be venus.

But I highly recommend your warnings! Risking to burn your retina no photo in the world is worth it!

No worries about my retinas. It'll be worth it if I see something nobody else sees. I love taking risks. My eyes are fine, btw. Thanks to all who care. (o:

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

The clouds should be brighter than the moon, but they don't show that effect, they have a high contrast.
Overexposure is also unlikely with those clouds.

Lens flare roughly at the point where the moon is?

What is the angular width of those images?

It's between two sides of a county block of Baltimore, MD, facing West. So actually it's somewhat less than 100 degrees visibility of the sky from that point in the middle of the block.. I can take another photo, out front, same positions. I'll show you on google maps, here.(I'm much shorter than that camera on the top of the google maps vehicle)

[personal info deleted by moderator. The precise location is not relevant]

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

The clouds should be brighter than the moon, but they don't show that effect, they have a high contrast.
Overexposure is also unlikely with those clouds.

Lens flare roughly at the point where the moon is?

What is the angular width of those images?

Oh..
The lens flares coming from both the sun and moon.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

Since Earth'shine is light reflected back from the lit side of the planet, you only get it bright enough to be noticeable when the moon is facing a fully lit day side.

I actually do have the same doubts as davenn, but I'm also giving the OP the benefit of the doubt, and assume she knew what she saw with her naked eyes, so I don't want to dismiss it as just a lens flare.

@Jessica Ann Yost: have you got actual time stamps on those pictures, including time of the day? Maybe they weren't taken in Maryland (your profile indicates this location)? We could then pinpoint more or less where the moon should be and see if its position matches the pictures.
It couldn't have been made on 1st of May 2015, that's for certain - the Moon was then below the horizon on the opposite side of the sky (almost full Moon).

It was around May 1st, 2015. I don't know the exact date besides what's on my google images. I don't know if that used the time stamp or upload dates. I just remember it was close, because I have other photos around those dates as well. My memory is pretty good, too, I like to think.

They were taken in Baltimore, Md. See above, in another reply..

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

awesome thought, at least I could put date, time and location into Stellarium and see where moon and sun were on that day

EDIT ... OK just plugged a bunch of locations around the Earth into Stellarium for that day, month, year
and for ALL of them the moon was either in the opposite part of the sky or below the horizon

so we really need real location, date and time. else it can only have been Venus or a lens flareDave

[personal info deleted by moderator. Not a good idea and the location is irrelevant anyway since the moon's phases are the same for everyone]. All I know about the date and time is it was afternoon, around May 1st, 2015.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

some lens flare examples
The result is almost identical to the OP's image

View attachment 95965 View attachment 95966 View attachment 95967Your Honour

I rest my case
Dave

Did you also see those with your eyes, without the camera?
I saw the moon. Then, decided to take a picture. That's what I do..

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

some lens flare examples
The result is almost identical to the OP's image

View attachment 95965 View attachment 95966 View attachment 95967Your Honour

I rest my case
Dave

Sorry, it is not. It is way too bright to be a new moon. More telling: the moon was nearly full on May 1, 2015 so it was on the other side of the Earth at the time the photo was taken.

I know it's too bright to be a new moon. That's why I posted. It looked closer to a full moon, from my eyes perspective. It doesn't make sense, to me.

 

[Jessica Ann Yost]

some lens flare examples
The result is almost identical to the OP's image

View attachment 95965 View attachment 95966 View attachment 95967Your Honour

I rest my case
Dave

I've seen Iphone5's having that issue, in the last image. I don't have an iphone. And no, it doesn't look exactly the same..