Moon and Sgr A Above Punta Cirica

A photo composite of multiple exposures. From the photographer: “Just a year has passed since, on May 12, 2022, the Event Horizon Telescope showed the world the first image of Sgr A*, the black hole that resides at the center of our galaxy. The EHT describes the image thus: ‘Although we cannot see the black hole itself, because it is completely dark, the glowing gas around it reveals a telltale signature: a central dark region (called a “shadow”) surrounded by a ring The new view captures light bent by the powerful gravity of the black hole, which is four million times more massive than our Sun.” To celebrate this anniversary, I have taken a very special alignment between the Moon and the galactic center with an angular separation of just 2° and 49’.

This image can be taken practically only once during the year or in that single moment in which the Milky Way has just risen before the end of the astronomical night and the Moon is a thin sickle. In this particular light condition, both the Moon and the Milky Way are visible simultaneously without the glare of our satellite obscuring the nebulae of the galaxy. This allows the alignment between the Moon and Sgr A* to be clearly shown. Finally, the image is shown as a painting where the sky merges with the geometric shapes of the Punta Ciriga bay in Sicily, highlighting curves, lines, points and triangles. While the bay captures the reflection of the moon, the breakwaters invite the observer to project themselves into the depths of the cosmos.”

Technical details: Canon 6dmod, Sigma 50mm
Sky: 80 sec, iso 200, f/2.8, sky tracked by Foranax Mount Lightrack II, 9 shots + 1 single image at 40 sec
Landscape: 80 sec, iso 800, f/4 , 8 shots