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| Sand Tufa at Mono Lake |
A couple of years ago I happened to be out on my morning walk when I saw the most beautiful waning crescent moon poised perfectly between Twin Peaks. It was the day before the October new moon. When I got home I grabbed my camera and took a picture, even though the moon was no longer in the perfect place, to remind me to try again the following year. When I went out the following year, the moon still didn't line up right. It was two days before the new moon, so I thought I would have another chance the following day, but I was shut down by fog.
So I've been waiting all year for yet another chance, and this morning was it. I woke up and looked out the window. All clear except for a few wispy clouds which, if anything, might even enhance the scene. I got dressed and hauled my gear up the road and set up my tripod, and then I waited. And I waited some more, watching with mounting concern as the morning was becoming too bright to see a little ole crescent moon. Somewhat perplexed, I gave up and went home.
I wondered what went wrong. I figured the key factor was simply to be in the same place, just before sunrise, a day or two before the October new moon. But the heavens don't run like clockwork in that way.
On October 15, 2020, when I was first wowed by the crescent moon, it rose 1 hour and 32 minutes before sunrise.
On October 4, 2021, the moon rose 2 hours and 9 minutes before sunrise.
And on October 24, 2022, the moon rose just 54 minutes before sunrise.
So for the crescent moon to be in the right place at the right time, I thought maybe I don't need it to be October at all. Maybe all I need is a difference between moonrise and sunrise that's close to 1.5 hours. As it happens, the difference on November 22 will be about 1.5 hours. Even better, the November crescent moon will be about three percent full, the same as the "wow" moon of two years ago.
I got myself all excited, thinking all I need now is a clear morning next month. But nope, wrong again! I'd forgotten that in September the moon rises too far north, and in November it rises too far south. The sad fact is, I probably do need the moonrise to be in October, and with about 1.5 hours between moonrise and sunrise, so that the moon's arc puts it between Twin Peaks at just the right time.
Drat.
If that's correct, it looks like my next best chance, with moonrise at 0539 and sunrise at 0720 (1 hour and 41 minutes difference), will be six years from now, on October 16, 2028....
(Since this post is about a picture I could not shoot, the two Mono Lake shots are from a long time ago, something at least tangentially attached to the idea of the new moon....)
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| Navy Beach Sand Tufa |
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