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fresh_42 said:Could it be Venus?
It's the moon.davenn said: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 said:...so close to the Sun's position? Is this even possible?
Jessica Ann Yost said: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.
Bandersnatch said: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
Jessica Ann Yost said:...so close to the Sun's position? Is this even possible?
Bandersnatch said:I'd say it's Earth'shine then.
And I'm still not convinced that it can't be venus.davenn said:I personally still have my doubts that it's the moon ... I have seen plenty of lens flare photos just like that
fresh_42 said: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!
The clouds should be brighter than the moon, but they don't show that effect, they have a high contrast.Drakkith said: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.
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.Drakkith said: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.
Bandersnatch said:@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).
some lens flare examplesmfb said:Lens flare roughly at the point where the moon is?
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.Jessica Ann Yost said:It's the moon.
It can't be Venus either: way, way, way too bright. You can't see Venus that close to the sun.davenn said:else it can only have been Venus or a lens flare
russ_watters said: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.
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..Bandersnatch said: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 said: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 said: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.
fresh_42 said: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!
fresh_42 said: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!
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)mfb said: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?
mfb said: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 said: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).
[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.davenn said: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 said: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
davenn said: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
russ_watters said: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.
davenn said: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
russ_watters said: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.
I know you think you've got a good memory, but as has been already said a few times, there's no way you could have seen the Moon at that time. And you'd need to wait almost two weeks for the moon to be this close to the Sun (or, made the photos nearly two weeks earlier).Jessica Ann Yost said:in the afternoon, near May 1st, 2015, I saw the moon,
Bandersnatch said:I know you think you've got a good memory, but as has been already said a few times, there's no way you could have seen the Moon at that time. And you'd need to wait almost two weeks for the moon to be this close to the Sun (or, made the photos nearly two weeks earlier).