                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2020 March 22

                      Moon Setting Behind Teide Volcano
    Video Credit & Copyright: Daniel López (El Cielo de Canarias); Music:
                        Piano della Moon (Dan Silva)

   Explanation: These people are not in danger. What is coming down from
   the left is just the Moon, far in the distance. Luna appears so large
   here because she is being photographed through a telescopic lens. What
   is moving is mostly the Earth, whose spin causes the Moon to slowly
   disappear behind Mount Teide, a volcano in the Canary Islands off the
   northwest coast of Africa. The people pictured are 16 kilometers away
   and many are facing the camera because they are watching the Sun rise
   behind the photographer. It is not a coincidence that a full moon rises
   just when the Sun sets because the Sun is always on the opposite side
   of the sky from a full moon. The featured video was made two years ago
   during the full Milk Moon. The video is not time-lapse -- this was
   really how fast the Moon was setting.

                 Free Video Lectures: Introductory Astronomy
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
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