From Moonrise to Sunset

As seen on Astronomy Picture of the Day in this panorama of Earth and sky, recorded on 2008 November 13, the Full Moon rises along the eastern horizon at the far left. Of course, the Full Moon rises at sunset and the setting Sun was also captured at the far right. In between, 17 digital images are stitched together to follow the horizon to the south in a lovely twilight portrait of the city of Lisbon, Portugal. The serene view takes in part of the longest bridge in Europe, the Vasco da Gama bridge, beneath the rising Moon and ends at the mouth of the Tagus River looking west toward the sunset and the Atlantic Ocean. The photographer’s vantage point was Lisbon’s 100 foot high Cristo Rei monument on the south bank of the Tagus, at the foot of the port city’s other famous bridge, the Ponte 25 de Abril.