Posted on by Nancy Atkinson

Awesome Astrophotos: Caught in the Web of the SuperMoon

Up in the sky — it’s a bird, it’s a plane… no, it’s a spider and a SuperMoon! Well, not quite. This composite image by Brian who is called Brian on Flickr was actually taken last night, on September 7, 2014, but it’s an awesome lead-in for our usual request for astrophotos of the Harvest Full — and super — Moon tonight.

So, post your images on our Flickr page, tag your photo with #supermoonphoto to get our attention on social media. We’ll include many in our article here, retweet them, and generally promote them anywhere and everywhere we can think of.

Of course, the future has already happened in Australia, and you can see the full Moon setting in Australia, below, as well as Moonrise images just coming in from Europe:

The big Harvest Moon sinks into the West, as seen from New South Wales, Australia on September 9, 2014. Credit and copyright: Wes Schulstad/Alien Shores.
The big Harvest Moon sinks into the West, as seen from New South Wales, Australia on September 9, 2014. Credit and copyright: Wes Schulstad/Alien Shores.

And just how big is the Moon? Astrophotographer Göran Strand (@Astrofotografen) posted this on Twitter:

The Harvest Moon rising over South West London on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson.
The Harvest Moon rising over South West London on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Roger Hutchinson.

A single shot image of the 3rd and last 'super' Moon of the year taken from Lahore, Pakistan on September 8, 2014 just 20 minutes after sunset. Credit and copyright: Roshaan Bukhari. Taken with a Meade 70mm refractor and HTC one x phone.
A single shot image of the 3rd and last ‘super’ Moon of the year taken from Lahore, Pakistan on September 8, 2014 just 20 minutes after sunset. Credit and copyright: Roshaan Bukhari.
Taken with a Meade 70mm refractor and HTC one x phone.
A lovely pale pink moonrise of the Harvest Moon on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: DawnSunrise.
A lovely pale pink moonrise of the Harvest Moon on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: DawnSunrise.
Moonset on the morning of September 8, 2014, as the Moon is just dropping below the Horizon. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil on Flickr.

Moonset on the morning of September 8, 2014, as the Moon is just dropping below the Horizon. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil on Flickr.

UPDATE: More new images:

The full Harvest Moon as seen from rural Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. Taken with a telescope and a smart phone. Credit and copyright: Connor Lewis.
The full Harvest Moon as seen from rural Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. Taken with a telescope and a smart phone. Credit and copyright: Connor Lewis.
Super Harvest Moon, September 8, 2014. Photo HDR and magnification of the Moon for a "Super Moon" effect. Credit and copyright: VegaStarCarpentier Photography.
Super Harvest Moon, September 8, 2014. Photo HDR and magnification of the Moon for a “Super Moon” effect. Credit and copyright: VegaStarCarpentier Photography.
Supermoon through the clouds on September 9, 2014. Credit and copyright: scul-001 on Flickr.
Supermoon through the clouds on September 9, 2014. Credit and copyright: scul-001 on Flickr.
Super Luna on September 8,, 2014. Credit and copyright: Héctor Barrios.
Super Luna on September 8,, 2014. Credit and copyright: Héctor Barrios.
Full Harvest Moon on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Harbor City Media/Steve Fitzmaurice.
Full Harvest Moon on September 8, 2014. Credit and copyright: Harbor City Media/Steve Fitzmaurice.
Full Moon setting on September 9, 2014 in the UK. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil.
Full Moon setting on September 9, 2014 in the UK. Credit and copyright: Sculptor Lil.

One Reply to “Awesome Astrophotos: Caught in the Web of the SuperMoon”

  1. So THAT’s how Saturn got it’s rings! Spiders… Seriously there is in all likelihood, a planet somewhere in the universe that looks exactly like that first image! Minus the spider. Or maybe naught?

    Sci-Fi short story: A race of gigantic spider like creatures evolve on a far away (We hope) planet. That planet is thousands of times larger than the Earth. The spider’s evolve into a superior hive intelligence shortly after becoming TOO successful as breeders. The planet’s resources are nearly exhausted or overwhelmed. Nature taking it’s course in just the nick of time, selects out a spider from the trillions who uses collected stomach gases and a hardened web surrounding his spinnerets to inject that gas into high temperature silicon based combustion chambers. Climbing to the highest peak on the planet (Some 200 feet) and casting a cleverly designed web high into the air, this spider learns how to catch the winds and drift up into the planet’s upper atmosphere. Once there muscles contract and create a pizoelectric spark in the mineral content therein which ignites collected digestion gases within bowels and lower intestinal tract. The explosive gases provide thrust for the spineret nozzles, enough to launch into orbit anyway and then eventually beyond. The spiders choose to breed in this trait and spread the genius genetically. The ‘risk taker’ is made prime breeder for the planet and then is chosen to rule for nearly a million years. The spiders eventually learn that the nearby star systems are disarmingly small and therefore quite disappointing for colonization. Most of what they see with their web spun telescopes are similar. They realize how unique they are and can rationalize building gigantic webs around selected planets which they will then feed on for centuries, consuming the flora, fauna and useful minerals therein. – Ever look up into the night sky and imagine you are seeing some sort of web of connected stars?

    P.S. No comment.

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