The famous American astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy has published a very unusual image, somewhat reminiscent of a frame from the movie Batman. On it, you can see a flying fox flying against the background of the Moon.
The picture was taken in the Maldives. McCarthy was filming the Worm full moon. However, the shooting was hampered by flying foxes, large bats found on the Indian Subcontinent and adjacent regions, whose wingspan reaches 130 cm. They were constantly flying against the background of the lunar disk.
Then McCarthy decided to take advantage of this circumstance to take a picture of such an unusual “transit”. To do this, he had to use an additional camera. The fact is that the flying foxes were very close to the telescope all the time and did not get into focus. Therefore, McCarthy used a 14-inch telescope to create a detailed portrait of the Moon, while the second camera focused on the bats. By combining the images they took into a single whole, the astrophotographer managed to get a very memorable image.
The Worm Moon, the original target of McCarthy, is the unofficial name for the first full moon in spring. In 2024, it coincided with a penumbral eclipse and the so-called micromoon — the moment when the moon of our planet is at its apogee and its apparent size in the terrestrial sky is minimal.
The second spring full moon of 2024 will take place on April 24. It is sometimes called pink. This name was given by the Indians of North America. It is due to the fact that the flowering of the pink flowers of the awl-shaped phlox occurs just in April.
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