Lunar Analemma?

[Volans]

G'day All,

I've seen plenty of images of a solar analemma ( and hats off to those who have done it!!) but has anyone see or maybe imaged even a partial lunar analemma? I know such a thing exists because I simulated it in the planetarium.

Peter.

[Argonavis]

So...if I went outside and took an image of the sky at midnight every night for a year - what would I see? About 12 or 13 Full Moons at upper culmination with waxing and waning phrases either side. Each Full Moon would appear at different altitudes to the horizon as the ecliptic moves up and down with the seasons and the Moons orbit is tilted about 6 degrees to this so the Moon would be either moving away or moving towards the ecliptic during this period, and I think it would take 18.6 years to return to the same position. Maybe do this over an 19 year period?

Might be best done under a planetarium dome, me thinks.

[Argonavis]

Actually I have only seen 2 images of the analemma - one done by Dennis di Coco of S&T back in the 70's and another more recently from Greece. Don't know of anyone else who has accomplished this.

[avandonk]

Try here, saw it some time ago, your post jogged my memory.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050713.html

Bert

[[1ponders]]

That is very tricky. I really like that. Thanks for that Bert.

[ving]

good find bert :)

kinda pretty, and very tricky :)

[beren]

In the Sept/Oct 2005 Sky and Space there was an article about students/teachers from the Melbourne girls grammer school who undertook a solar analemma photography project , interesting stuff apparently the first publicated southern hemisphere example :)

[Volans]

Thanks Bert, just what I was looking for! This all came about when I created a script that makes the digital system in the planetarium simulate both a lunar synodic month and then a lunar sidereal month to show the school kids the difference. I then, for fun, made the Moon leave a trail and I was suprised to see an analemma. When I remember to bring the camera into to work I'll take an image - but it wont be anywhere near as good as that APOD.

Peter.

[Volans]

As promised, an image of the planetarium's lunar analemma (meridian included for refrence).

[Greg Bryant]

Hi,

Robert Price, who lives near Albury on the NSW / Vic border, successfully produced an analemma. It was published in that region's local newspaper early last year, thus making it the first known published Southern Hemisphere image. It was reproduced in Quasar's Astronomy 2006 yearbook.

Regards,

[jjjnettie]

Off topic sort of.
Did anyone notice the analemma in the movie Castaway? When he is living in his cave, supposedly the sun would enter the cave and hit the wall at a different position each month and then he would make a mark on the wall.
I only noticed it the last time the movie was on telly.