The night of the 11th was super cloudy over Bukit Mertajam. The moon could hardly be seen here although friends in Kuala Lumpur had reported a very bright moon in the sky. I did step out of the house twice but failed to detect it, although I could see a patch in the cloud-covered sky which had been lit up slightly. But never mind, I told myself, perhaps I could catch a sight of it in the early hours of the morning.
I awoke at about six o'clock but not from the moonlight streaming into the bedroom. Remembering what I was supposed to do, I looked through the window to see a very low moon above my neighbour's rooftop across the road. Through the slight haze, the moon had a strange orange hue. The subdued lights also made me change my camera settings. No way could I use my usual 1/2000- or 1/3200-second shutter speed for the full moon pictures. I had to slow the speed down to 1/40 second or slower, which says a lot for the moon's brightness this morning.
Before I get to the picture, I've got to mention that astronomically, the moon would become exactly 100 percent illuminated at 9.36am today. Of course, we can't see it since it is already daytime in this part of the world, but on the opposite side of the earth where it is night, the people there will be able to experience this moment of exact full moon. But my picture of the moon this morning at 6.27am was close enough for all practical purposes: the moon at 99.8 illumination. Bonus...this month's full moon is also a super full moon. The last super full moon for 2022.
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| The super full moon at 1/40-second shutter speed |
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