Amazing Moon Rises Over City Hall in Sweden (Photo)
A giant moon rises over a sleepy city in Sweden, marking the last moments of summer.
Astrophotographer Göran Strand sent SPACE.com this magnificent photo of the moon over Östersund's city hall on Oct. 28.
"I went out to capture the last hours of the summertime,” Strand said in an email to SPACE.com. "In the background you can see some clouds that are lit by the moon." [10 Surprising Moon Facts]
The Earth's lone satellite takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth and rotate on its axis. It takes 29.53 days between one full moon to the next, a time also called a "synodic" month. Its size appears to vary to observers on Earth because it has an elliptical orbit.
The first person to use a telescope to make scientific observations of the moon was 17th century Italian scientist Galileo Galilei. The legendary scientist went against popular opinion in 1609 when he described the surface of the moon to mountainous and rough.
To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by SPACE.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.
Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.
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