Hunter's Moon From Owens Peak
Wayne's Word Index Noteworthy Plants Trivia Lemnaceae Biology 101 Botany Scenic Wildflowers Trains Spiders & Insects Search
     Harvest Moon In Arizona        Moon With 500mm Mamiya        Moon Over San Marcos        Owens Peak        Emerald Heights  
Some Wayne's Word Moon Images

Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm
Mamiya 645 Medium Format 500mm
with Vivitar 2X Doubler & Mamiya-Nikon adapter.

Moon taken with Nikon D-90 and Mamiya 500mm (with Mamiya 2x doubler). Left Image (Thursday 7 July 2011): ISO 1000, 1/80, F-8. Middle Image (Friday 8 July 2011): ISO 500, 1/200, F-8. Right Image (Thursday 14 July 2011): ISO 200, 1/250, F-8. Craters show better during partial moon phases.

View of Saturn taken with my old D-90 and huge medium format Mamiya lens with 2x teleconverter. This is an outstanding lens but heavy & unwieldy.

I must confess that some of my moon images on this page were taken hand-held with a Sony HX50V set on Program Mode and Hand-Held Twilight Modes. I carry this little camera on my belt at all times!

Facebook Trivia Note #651. Last night's super moon (called "Pink Moon"), the biggest & brightest of 2020: A break in the rain clouds over my house at 10:30 P.M. Pink moon is named after a ground phlox called moss pink (Phlox subulata) that blooms during April in the eastern U.S. I used our similar species in San Diego mountains (Phlox austromontana) for above image. Sony HX-50 Handheld Twilight Mode.

Corn Moon (named for corn harvest) & mantid from my home at dawn today (2 Sept. 2020). BTW, Harvest Moon is full moon closest to autumnal equinox (Sept. 22). This year it appears on Oct. 1.

"Once In A Blue Moon"

The common definition for Blue Moon referring to the second full moon in a month is incorrect. This definition comes from a March 1946 article in Sky & Telescope magazine by James Hugh Pruett. Apparently the author misinterpreted the traditional definition in the 1937 Maine Farmer's Almanac and his definition has been perpetuated for 66 years: "Seven times in 19 years there were--and still are--13 full moons a year. This gives 11 months with one full moon each and one with two. This second in a month, so I interpret, was called Blue Moon." The widespread adoption of the definition of a Blue Moon as the second full moon in a month followed its use on the popular radio program StarDate on January 31, 1980. This is a good example of a stated "fact" that has been misinterpreted.

The term "Blue Moon" is the name for the third full moon in a season that has four full moons, instead of three. It is not the color blue, unless perhaps viewed through the dust cloud from a volcanic eruption. It is also used colloquially to mean a rare event, as in the phrase "once in a blue moon." In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maine Farmer's Almanac listed blue moon dates for farmers. Normally each season (quarter) of the year has three full moons and these are given names, such as Hay Moon for the first moon of summer, Corn Moon for the second moon and Harvest Moon for the last moon of summer. When a season has four full moons the third is called Blue Moon so that the last can continue to be called the proper name for that season. Please refer to Wikipedia for more information and references on this subject.

Harvest Moon rising above the hill behind my house in Twin Oaks Valley. I used two different exposures for house and moon. 16 September 2016.

Harvest Moon Images

Harvest Moon Over White Mountain Lake, Arizona

Very little tweaking with Photoshop was done on these images. The moon on 30 September 2012 was really
large and golden on the horizon! The warm (reddish) glow of the moon shortly after it rises is caused by light
from the moon passing through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead.

Click On Image To Return To White Mtns Home Page.

  Moon Images Taken With 500mm Mimiya Telephoto  
Moon Images Taken From Home In San Marcos

Harvest Super Moon (Blood Moon) Eclipse From Owens Peak

Last night's lunar eclipse from summit of Owens Peak. April 2014 Lunar Eclipse

Sunset On Night Of Super Moon

Sunset over ocean from Owens Peak (27 September 2015): Night of the Super Moon.

24 Hours After The Night Of Super Moon

Standing on Owens Peak last night at 8:00 PM: 24 hours after total eclipse & blood moon.
Mamiya 645 Medium Format 500 mm lens on Nikon body   More Moon Images

My 1st attempt at photographing last night's "blood moon." Next time I will use a larger lens! During total eclipse the orange moon was very faint and my lens kept fogging up (condensation) with moisture from early morning dew. More Moon Images

Hunter's Moon Over Sedona

It was necessary to take two different exposures for this image. The sandstone formation was taken at ISO 200, f 8, 1/6 sec. The moon was taken at ISO 200, f 8, 1/100 sec. Camera: Nikon D-3200 with 70-300 mm lens on tripod. Tripod was placed on hillside east of Sedona: 18 October 2013 6:00 P.M.

View Of Hunter's Moon From Owens Peak
© W.P. Armstrong 29 October 2012 6:30 P.M.
Images of Hunter's moon from the summit of Owens Peak northeast of Palomar College. The moon is rising over Emerald Heights, Escondido with the rugged granitic hills of Dailey Ranch in the distance. This beautiful moon appeared in the horizon a few minutes after sunset on 29 October 2012 at approximately 6:30 P.M. There was a little atmospheric distortion of the moon which I did not correct. The warm (reddish) glow of the moon shortly after it rises is caused by light from the moon passing through a greater amount of atmospheric particles than when the moon is overhead. Hunter's moon is the first full moon after the Harvest Moon. The Harvest Moon is the full moon nearest the autumnal equinox (September 22). Hunter's moon is supposedly named because plenty of moonlight is ideal for hunters shooting migrating birds in northern Europe. According to Wikipedia, the name may also have been used by Native Americans as they tracked and killed their prey by autumn moonlight, stockpiling food for the coming winter months.

Miscellaneous Images With A Moon

Dateland, Arizona

Cave Creek Canyon, Arizona: Silver Peak & Moon

Moon Over The Superstitions, Arizona

Super Blue Moon Over The Superstions 31 January 2018.

Moon Over Riparian Preserve In Gilbert, Arizona

Moonrise Over Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona

Last night's moon over Gilbert, Arizona (30 Jan 2018) was actually a very rare event, especially if you include the lunar eclipse at dawn the following morning (31 Jan 2018). It is called a "Super Blue Blood Moon." The following definition is from NASA:

Why is it called a Super Blue Blood Moon? Supermoon: When the Moon is at or near its closest point to Earth. Blue Moon: The second full moon in a month. Blood Moon: The red tint Earth's shadow casts on the Moon during a lunar eclipse. See More Detailed Explanation For Blue Moon On This Page.

  See Supermoon Over Lone Pine November 2016  

Super Moon Over My Neighborhood In Twin Oaks Valley (Feb 2020)

Of course, I can beat these images with my 500mm Mamiya Medium Format Lens on my Nikon SLR with heavy duty tripod, but this little Sony fits in my pocket! Mamiya 500mm Telephoto

Wayne's Trivia Note #659 (8 May 2020)

Farewell to the "Flower Moon" of May 2020. Photo taken under my pepper tree early this morning with Sony HX60V. This is last full supermoon of 2020.

Wayne's Trivia Note #739 (26 April 2021)

Last night's supermoon (26 April 2021) over Twin Oaks Valley was so bright that the clouds appeared to go behind it! I used separate exposures for clouds & moon with Sony HX50V. It is called "pink moon" after a phlox named ground pink that blooms during April in E. U.S. Last Year's Pink Moon

Moonset 6:00 AM 27 April 2021 behind pinkish clouds and ridge west of Twin Oaks Valley. The moon picks up a slight reddish tinge because its light passes through more atmospheric particles at horizon.

Blue Corn Moon 22 Aug 2021
With The Planets Jupiter & Saturn

Zoomed view of last Sunday night's bright moonrise behind Wayne's Word headquarters, a corn harvest moon that fits decription of "Blue Moon." In general, each season has 3 full moons. But summer 2021, which began June 20 and ends Sept. 22, has 4 full moons (June 24, July 23, Aug. 22 & Sept. 20). Last Sunday night's "blue moon" is the name for the 3rd full moon in a season that has 4 full moons, instead of 3. It is not the color blue. Just as I tweaked this image with Photoshop, many moon images on the Internet with a distinct blue color were probably taken with a filter or enhanced with an imaging program!
  See Description of Blue Moon On This Page  

Full moon 7 Dec. 2022: A marvelous lunar eclipse (occultation) of Mars. An exciting event on my road trip to Fontana, CA. When I first saw the red object move behind the moon I thought it was a tiny moon or spaceship in an orbit around our moon, or I was hallucinating!

View of early morning moonset in the west from my office door in Twin Oaks Valley.

  If You Want To Know The Precise Phase Of The Moon Each Day Of The Month     Click Here  

 Interactive Moon Map     Moon Images With Sony H5   
 Google Moon     Nasa Moon Images