Blue Moon Rising Over White Rock Lake

UPDATE [August 20, 2024]:
If you have followed the news you know there was a Blue Super Moon yesterday. However, it was different from the one I wrote about below. The one last year was a monthly Blue Moon, while the one yesterday was a seasonal Blue Moon. A monthly Blue Moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, whereas a seasonal Blue Moon is the third full moon in an astronomical season with four full moons, occurring between an equinox and a solstice. Why is the 3rd instead of the 4th full Moon in a season the Blue Moon instead of the 4th? Good question! If you know why, share it in a comment.

As for being a Super Moon, that label applies to both the full Moon yesterday and the one for last August although last August the Moon was slightly closer to Earth (about 2,700 miles closer).

With the extreme Texas heat, lately I've been waiting till after sunset to take our Weimaraner, Luna, for a walk and we've been walking along the shore of White Rock Lake near where we live since it's often cooler with a little breeze coming off the water. 

I had not planned to shoot the Blue Moon tonight, but after my wife Linda asked if I would be, it occurred to me that it would be visible over the eastern shore of the lake when Luna and I were out walking. I decided to see if I could get a shot of the full Moon rising over the sailboats at Corinthian Sailing Club before our walk. I grabbed my small refractor (Sky Watcher EvoStar 72ED), my Nikon D750 and a tripod, loaded Luna in the car and headed to the lake. 

Apparently, so did everyone else. I guess the news of the Blue Super Moon got enough press that lots of other people showed up at the lake to watch it rise and traffic driving up the west shore was like rush hour. By the time I was parking the Moon was already well above the tree line. I hastily set up the scope and camera, got a reasonably good focus on the Moon and started shooting. All the while, Luna hung out with me, thankfully only wrapping her lead around the tripod as I was finishing up. 

Ironically, the shot below was the first shot I took. Of all the others, I could perhaps merge a few bracketed shots for something with a higher dynamic range but frankly this is pretty much the shot I had in mind when I left the house. 

Enjoy!

As always, click on the image to see full-screen.