Filipinos will be able to witness a ‘supermoon’ at 7:21 p.m. on Monday, November 14. The moon will be closest to the earth and it will be in its biggest and brightest yet in 68 years. The last time it happened was in 1948. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA) says it won’t happen again till 2034.
Supermoon Or Perigee Full Moon
The term ‘supermoon’ is a full moon that coincides with the lunar orb’s closest approach to Earth, or perigee. Perigee comes from the Greek words “peri” (near) and “gee” (earth). The National Geographic explains that the moon’s orbit around the earth is egg-shaped. There are times when the earth is in it’s highest and lowest perigee.
The average distance of the moon from the earth is 383,400 km. On November 2016, the perigee is just 356,621.611 kilometers.
Super Moon In the Philippines 2016
According to PAGASA, the gravitational pull makes high tides higher and low tides lower. Fishermen are aware of this. They avoid fishing during these times. Photographers and hobbyists on the other hand cannot wait to take a photo of this rare phenomena. On Twitter, we see Filipino’s getting ready for it.
5 Tips On How To Take The Best Supermoon Photos
We know you are all excited. National Geographic asked professional photographers on how to position yourself and the camera to get the best shot whether you’re working with a DSLR camera or a smartphone.
So here are 5 tips on how to take that perfect Supermooon photo.
1.For DSLR users, get the right light and exposure. Mark Thiessen, staff photographer of the National Geographic said you should shoot with the same exposure you would in daylight on earth. The explanation is it’s technically daylight on the moon. Too long exposure will result in an overexposed moon with no lunar detail. He added to use the biggest lens you can and add a teleconverter lens. Mark used a 600mm lens and a 2x converter when he took a photo of the moon about ten year ago.
2.Make sure to capture the supermoon with other structures like buildings, tress or mountains. If you take the moon with only the sky, people will not actually see the difference in size. This creates a richer photograph. Senior photographer Bill Ingall of NASA said, “Don’t make the mistake of photographing the moon by itself, with no reference to anything.”
3. For smartphone users use your optical lens only, not your digital zoom. National Geographic photographer Michael Christopher Brown says do not zoom in on your phone’s sensor before taking the photo. This will decrease the quality. Take the image first, and then zoom to crop. Observe the movement of the moon days before and plan where and when to shoot.
4. Put your phone on a tripod where it is stable and use your finger to get the right light balance. If you don’t have a tripod you could place your phone on a solid surface like a ledge and set the timer to ensure a stable exposure. Ingal suggests to tap the screen and hold your finger on the moon to lock the focus on it instead of allowing the auto focus to do the job. You can slide your finger to choose best exposure. Brown says, “You’ll usually want to drag it down for underexposure to be sure you have all the highlight detail.”
5. Take some time to enjoy the moon without your camera! Remember to enjoy the super rare supermoon without your lens. Live is always better.
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