Explanation:
July's Full Moon
looks strangely darkened and distorted in
this remarkable
telescopic view.
The image is one of
a
series recorded when the Moon was very near
the horizon.
The long sight-line through a turbulent atmosphere
gives rise to the tantalizing optical effects,
including the thin "mirage" shape that seems to
float just above the Moon's upper edge.
Also seen (more easily in the inset),
along the Moon's upper edge is a noticeable
green rim.
Substantial atmospheric refraction produces this
prism-like effect -- related to the
more commonly witnessed
green flash of the setting Sun.
Careful inspection of the full image reveals a corresponding red
rim along the lower edge, another intriguing signature of
atmospheric
refraction.
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