Assos Supermoon

The full moon rises above the Athena Temple in Assos, Turkey, a village in the Aegean seaside amid ancient ruins. The term “supermoon” describes a full moon that coincides with perigee. The photographed full moon of 2013 June 23 was the largest of the year. However contrary to what the word supermoon might resemble, the angular size of the moon does not change that much. It’s not noticeable to inexperienced eyes compared to other full moons of the year. Supermoons holds a record but they are just slightly larger in apparent size. The TWAN photographer used some mapping and a planetarium software to find the best place to set up, so the Moon would set at the right position and angle behind the temple. From the photographer: “I used a 500 mm f/8 Maksutov lens and a 2x teleconverter. The Moon was 3 to 3.5 degrees above the horizon, while the Sun was 5 degrees below.” Also known as Behramkale, Assos is located in Canakkale province of Turkey, close to the westernmost point of Asia. Assos was founded about 3000 years ago. The settlers built a Doric Temple to Athena on top of the crag in 530 BC. From this temple Hermias of Atarneus, a student of Plato, ruled Assos, when the city experienced its greatest prosperity. Aristotle also lived here and opened an Academy.