                        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.

                                 2022 July 4

                  Strawberry Supermoon Over Devil's Saddle
                Image Credit & Copyright: Lorenzo Busilacchi

   Explanation: Near the horizon the full moon often seems to loom large,
   swollen in appearance by the famous Moon illusion. But time-lapse image
   sequences demonstrate that the Moon's angular size doesn't really
   change as it rises or sets. Its color does, though. Recording a frame
   about every 60 seconds, this image also shows how red the Sun can look
   while low on the horizon. The featured montage was taken from Cagliari,
   Sardinia, Italy, the day after June's Strawberry Moon, a full moon
   dubbed a supermoon due to its slightly larger-than-usual angular size.
   This Strawberry Supermoon is seen rising behind the Devil's Saddle, a
   mountain named for the unusual moon-sized dip seen just to the right of
   the rising moon. A shrinking line-of-sight through planet Earth's dense
   and dusty atmosphere shifted the moonlight from strawberry red through
   honey-colored and paler yellowish hues. That change seems appropriate
   for a northern June Full Moon also known as the Strawberry or Honey
   Moon. A Thunder Supermoon -- the third of four supermoons in 2022 --
   will occur later this month.

                 Today's Adventure Link: Click on "Cagliari"
                      Tomorrow's picture: molten galaxy
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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                             & Michigan Tech. U.

