POTD: Lazy Moons
Lazy Moons
Bozeman, Montana
2022
In late September I read an article in the news about the planet Jupiter. It was something about it being brighter in the night sky than it has been for many years–or something like that, I forget the exact issue. Anyway, that night I went out to see it and was amazed not only that it was in fact quite bright, but also that I could easily make out four moons with the moderately decent pair of binoculars that we have. So then, just for grins, I grabbed my camera with its 100-400mm telephoto lens, braced it against a porch post and took this handheld shot. I’m sure that not even bothering with a tripod puts me in the running for the world’s laziest astro-photographer and you certainly will never see my celestial photos in Sky and Telescope magazine, but the results are still oddly pleasing to this former childhood astronomy buff.