"The glow and beauty of the stars are nothing near the splendid moon
When in her roundness she burns silver about the world . . ."
From a fragment of a poem by Sappho (circa 615-562 BC).
This photo was taken in August 2003 when Mars was at its closest to the earth for many years. By a happy astronomical coincidence it appeared to rise with the full moon, whose brightness did not manage to dim that of the red planet.
On a hot summer evening we set a camera on a tripod on the pebble beach of a cove on Mykale Bay and enjoyed an al fresco evening meal while waiting for the heavenly bodies to appear. A light breeze blew ripples over the sea of the narrow Samos Strait, and the great dark mass of Samsun Daği (Mount Mykale, see previous page), less than 2 km away across the strait, seemed almost close enough to touch.
Mysterious lights appeared and disappeared on and around the mountain, and we presumed they must be the headlights of vehicles, driving around its slopes. Occasionally, a small fishing boat would chug by close to the shore on the Greek side of the strait.
To the eye the air seemed quite clear, but despite the tripod, the ever-present haze prevented a clear shot of the moon due to the long exposures needed. Oh well, we tried, and perhaps we captured at least the pale ghost of a wonderful evening.
On quite another evening, ten years later, I stood on the opposite shore of the strait and watched a dramatic thunderstorm lighting up Samos. |
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photos & articles:
© David John |
