Moray seaside town of Lossiemouth the venue for a ‘Supermoon’
A photographer has managed to show the moon about as up close and personal as it ever gets to us here on this part of planet Earth.
Snapped last week from a vantage point on Lossiemouth’s East Beach, the images show the Waning Gibbous of a Supermoon (to use the technical terms).
Rather than orbiting in a perfect circle, the moon’s path around the earth is slightly oval-shaped like an egg. This means it’s closer at certain times of the year than others.
A Supermoon occurs when it’s at its closest point, making it appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter.
Meanwhile, the ‘Waning Gibbous’ part refers to the fact the photos were taken two days after the Supermoon, when it has already begun the process of shrinking from being a 100% visible full moon to a 50% visible half moon.
The man behind the camera was Brian Ashworth who, once upon a time, worked in bomb disposal for the Royal Navy.
Nowadays Brian is employed as a contractor and is currently doing site investigations ahead of a major project to upgrade the 120 miles of electricity pylons between Beauly and Peterhead.
He said: “I took the pictures using a tripod, having first found out from a local fisherman the exact place the moon would be rising on the horizon.
Brian added: “The air quality is so good here that there’s none of the haze you usually encounter when taking photos of the moon.
“Also, there’s a perfect view eastwards from Lossie with nothing in the way.”
