A Jovian Micro Moon

The full moon last night was gorgeous through our light clouds! If you look carefully at Jupiter you can even make out four of its moons (be sure to view large on black to see this best).

What is a Micro Moon? It's the when the moon is at its most distant point from the Earth, as opposed to the much more hyped Super Moon last May 6th. If you want to see a size comparison, today’s APOD is not to be missed: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121129.html ( http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap121129.html )

Image Notes:

This actually had to be a hand-blended composite of multiple frames to get the dynamic ranged needed for all the elements you see here. The longest exposure was needed to pull in the dim moons of Jupiter, where a much shorter exposure ensured the moon didn't burn out. A couple of middle ones helped to pick up the light clouds gifting the moon a halo of sorts.

FullMoonMicroJovianJupiterMoonsAstroAstronomyAstrophotographyCOColoradoLarimerFort CollinsNatureFull MoonNikonD700CoronaLunaLunarIoEuropaGanymedeCallistoConjunction2012AMichael Menefee

From The Variety Collection