Highest Moon & Shortest Shadow
Taken by Bob Beal on December 24, 2023 @ St. George, Utah, USA
Click photo for larger image
  Camera Used: Panasonic DMC-G7
Exposure Time: 600/10
Aperture: f/1.0
ISO: 200
Date Taken: 2023:12:26 07:44:25
 
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Details:
This week's Sky & Telescope website's sky newsletter states that on Dec 24 at 11pm local time, the Moon reaches its closest to the zenith and shows your shadow as short "as you will ever see it (from your mid-northern latitude)", although the next few nights are almost as good.

Photo #1 shows the nearly full Moon and the shadow it cast of me as it reached the meridian at 11pm. The view faces W with N to the right; Polaris is visible at the upper right, and Jupiter is the bright dot above the main bank of clouds. Since this particular fisheye lens can see behind itself to some extent, you can see the camera's grip to the right, the house on the left that's behind the tripod, and the Moon's reflection off of something at the top.

Getting the photo was a bit tricky because the only straight line in any fisheye image is any diameter, but I got the 3 points--the Moon, my nose, and my shadow--to line up properly. At latitude 37° N. for St. George, the Moon was 11° from the zenith (reference: Sky Safari Pro 6), while the white line drawn on the photo is tilted 10° from vertical (reference: Straighten command/Angle parameter in Paint Shop Pro X2). The results are accurate to 1 degree--not bad, given the errors involved with positioning myself in the yard and drawing the line on the photo.

Photo #2 shows the sky at 11pm MST and is oriented like a sky map with N up and W right. Zenith and the meridian are shown. Jupiter is plain enough, but Uranus was also faintly recorded and marked with green tick marks just E of it. The Moon halo is lens flare.

Photo data:
Panasonic G7, Laowa 4mm 210° circular fisheye lens, tripod-mounted
... both photos: f/2.8, 60 sec, ISO 200
... processed in Paint Shop Pro X2
... date/time: Dec 24, 2023 11:00pm MST

Photographer's website:
No URL provided.
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