Famous astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy once again pleased all fans of his work. This time, he published an image showing the coverage of Saturn by the Moon.
In astronomy, coverage is a phenomenon during which (from the point of view of an observer from a certain point) one celestial body passes in front of another, covering it completely or partially. In this case, these bodies were the Moon and Saturn. Their meeting in the sky took place on September 17. There was no coverage visible in Ukraine as the Moon approached Saturn at a minimum distance of 16 angular minutes. But residents of the western regions of North America, Australia and Hawaii were able to see Saturn temporarily hidden behind the lunar disk. Additional interest in the event was added by the fact that the Moon was almost full — its disk was 96% illuminated.
To photograph the coverage, Andrew McCarthy traveled to Hawaii. The photo was taken from the top of the extinct volcano Mauna Kea. It is one of the best places on Earth for astronomical observations. Mauna Kea is home to several observatories.
In an effort to capture as much detail as possible, McCarthy took thousands of images of the Moon and Saturn. Then they were processed and combined into a single image. According to the photographer, he increased the brightness of Saturn to avoid it getting lost in the background of the Moon. In addition, it more precisely matches what McCarthy observed through the eyepiece at the time of the photography.
We can also notice that the Moon has more saturated colors than the human eye can normally see. They correspond to the different types of minerals on its surface.
You can also enjoy a selection of the best lunar eclipse images.
