This week, we have a full moon, and I have to admit, this is one of the four full moons of the year that I like to pay attention to. This is one of the full moons that rise during twilight and is pretty easy for a beginning photographer to photograph. At 3:17 am Eastern / 2:17 am Central, the Sun, the Earth, and the Moon will all occupy the same plane in the sky. I say ‘plane’ instead of ‘line’ because the Earth and the Moon aren’t lined up, and the Moon will be outside Earth’s shadow shining brightly in the Sun.

Our eyes, and for the most part our cameras, will see the Moon as full for all of tomorrow. Moonrise will be within a few minutes of sunset for mid-latitude locations in the U.S. and Europe. This means that if you go out to a nice flat area – a plowed farm or expansive golf course – you will see the Sun and Moon, setting and rising, in a parallel dance in the east and west. Not only is this stunning to see, but it also means the moon is rising in the twilight, and its bright disc will be easier to photograph against the still blue sky. 

The Moon will also appear huge to the easily fooled human mind. When we see the Moon next to distant trees or buildings, our brain translates it as HUGE. The thing is, the Moon is actually the same size no matter where it is in the sky, and you can check it for yourself by comparing it to the size of your pinky nail, held at arm’s length when the moon is on the horizon and a few hours later when it is higher in the sky.

Now, I didn’t say exactly when sunset and moonrise will be because the exact numbers depend on your location within your timezone and your landscape. The website timeanddate.com has great tools for looking up this information as well as a lot of other facts about the sky and time itself. Check it out and make your plans to go out and watch the horizon.

If you want to try your hand at taking a spectacular moonrise photo, go out tonight and note where the Moon rises and figure out where you need to be to get the alignment you want. Mark the spot, and return there with a camera tomorrow. You’ll want to use your best telephoto lens to make the Moon as big as possible against a distant object. Tonight’s moonrise will be about 45 minutes earlier than tomorrow’s, but again, use something like timeanddate.com to get the exact times for your location.

If you do get a shot, please share it with us by tagging us on Twitter or Instagram. We’ll share the best photos during next Thursday’s What’s Up segment.

More Information

Sky & Telescope article

EarthSky article

Full Moon – the Moonlight Phase (timeanddate.com)