                        Astronomy Picture of the Day

    Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our
      fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation
                    written by a professional astronomer.

                                2024 June 29

                               A Solstice Moon
                 Image Credit & Copyright: Tunc Tezel (TWAN)

   Explanation: Rising opposite the setting Sun, June's Full Moon occurred
   within about 28 hours of the solstice. The Moon stays close to the
   Sun's path along the ecliptic plane and so while the solstice Sun
   climbed high in daytime skies, June's Full Moon remained low that night
   as seen from northern latitudes. In fact, the Full Moon hugs the
   horizon in this June 21 rooftop night sky view from Bursa, Turkey,
   constructed from exposures made every 10 minutes between moonrise and
   moonset. In 2024 the Moon also reached a major lunar standstill, an
   extreme in the monthly north-south range of moonrise and moonset caused
   by the precession of the Moon's orbit over an 18.6 year cycle. As a
   result, this June solstice Full Moon was at its southernmost moonrise
   and moonset along the horizon.

                        Tomorrow's picture: Earthrise
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       Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
            NASA Official: Amber Straughn Specific rights apply.
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                      A service of: ASD at NASA / GSFC,
                           NASA Science Activation
                             & Michigan Tech. U.

