An old autumn moon rises
with a new astronomical timestamp
"'Autumn Moon, the High Sierra from Glacier Point,' taken by Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, is a thrilling view of the American West, featuring a waxing Moon rising over dark, ice-tinged peaks.
"Ansel Adams was always precise about exposure times and lens settings, but sometimes vague about when and where he took his pictures. Autumn Moon has been dated as both 1944 and 1948. [This 'graph lifted from the Guardian, see link.]
"A team led by Donald Olson, a professor of physics and astronomy at Texas State University, claim that the mystery can be resolved.*
"Using lunar tables, topographic maps, weather records and astronomical software, backed by a scouting trip to Glacier Point itself, the researchers believe that Adams pressed the shutter on September 15, 1948 at 7:03 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
"Olson has previously determined when Van Gogh painted 'Evening Landscape with Rising Moon' in Provence and 'The White House at Night,' painted at Auvers-sur-Oise, northwest of Paris... and the exact spot where Edvard Munch conceived of his painting 'The Scream.' [Sort of takes the mystery out of it, ne? --Ed.]
"Those who wish to get a real-life glimpse of 'Autumn Moon' are in luck this year. On September 15, the Moon will be in almost exactly the same position as when it was seen by Adams."
Autumn Moon over Glacier Point, Sept. 15, 2005
* What, does this guy have a contract with the wire services? Here's another story about Olson's lunar forensics from Aug. 21, 2004.
"Ansel Adams was always precise about exposure times and lens settings, but sometimes vague about when and where he took his pictures. Autumn Moon has been dated as both 1944 and 1948. [This 'graph lifted from the Guardian, see link.]
"A team led by Donald Olson, a professor of physics and astronomy at Texas State University, claim that the mystery can be resolved.*
"Using lunar tables, topographic maps, weather records and astronomical software, backed by a scouting trip to Glacier Point itself, the researchers believe that Adams pressed the shutter on September 15, 1948 at 7:03 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
"Olson has previously determined when Van Gogh painted 'Evening Landscape with Rising Moon' in Provence and 'The White House at Night,' painted at Auvers-sur-Oise, northwest of Paris... and the exact spot where Edvard Munch conceived of his painting 'The Scream.' [Sort of takes the mystery out of it, ne? --Ed.]
"Those who wish to get a real-life glimpse of 'Autumn Moon' are in luck this year. On September 15, the Moon will be in almost exactly the same position as when it was seen by Adams."
Autumn Moon over Glacier Point, Sept. 15, 2005
* What, does this guy have a contract with the wire services? Here's another story about Olson's lunar forensics from Aug. 21, 2004.
An old autumn moon rises
with a new astronomical timestamp
mr damon, 10:47
1 Comments:
For more interesting examples of Don Olson's research, check out:
"Don't Scream for Me, Krakatoa"
http://www.mrp.txstate.edu/mrp/relations/newsreleases/2003/12/12n3.html
and
"Texas State Astronomers Unravel Marathon Mystery"
http://www.mrp.txstate.edu/mrp/relations/newsreleases/2004/07/19n1.html
Post a Comment
<< 22 over 7