by Anthony Ayiomamitis
This image of the rising full moon against the Temple of Aphaia (490-480 BC) on the cycladic island of Aigina south of mainland Greece is the latest effort involving the rising full moon against various archaeological grounds in Greece. Following earlier efforts from 2004 and 2005 whose purpose was to identify the optimal time after sunset which would yield a perfect (!) balance between the (bright) rising moon and the natural lighting of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion Greece, determined to be approximately 22 minutes after sunset, the foundation had been laid for additional future work and similar results. The photo below as well as two other photos from the same session were taken from a distance of 1640 meters to the northwest of the temple and which provided the ideal location for these photos with respect to aspect ratio, azimuth and altitude. The absence of lighting for the grounds at Aigina involving the Temple of Aphaia made the exercise much more difficult than with the other archaeological grounds captured to-date and a repeat visit in 2009 will be required for a slightly more natural optimal balance in lighting.
Technical Details:
Date: July 18, 2008 @ 21:20:42 UT+3
Location: Isle of Aigina, Greece (37.7619° N, 23.5170° E)
Equipment: Takahashi FSQ 106/f5, Canon EOS 350D
Exposure: 1 x 0.25 sec, ISO 400, RAW Image Format, 3456x2304 image size, Manual Mode
Further details: http://www.perseus.gr/Astro-Lunar-Scenes-Aigina-02.htm