The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) has named a photographer from Turin, Italy, the winner of “Astronomy Picture of the Day” for Christmas 2023 for their one-in-a-million snapshot of the moon.
The moon was captured in an amazing picture taken by Valerio Minato, showing it precisely lined up with the dome of the Basilica of Superga, which is close to Turin, and the summit of Monviso, also called Monte Viso, the highest peak in the Cottian Alps.
Minato revealed that he came up with the concept for this image in 2017 and that ever since, he has been obsessed with getting the moon, the cathedral, and the mountain all in one picture.
In addition, he disclosed that it required him six years to achieve the ideal shot.
“The key is in shifting your viewpoint and learning to wait.”
“I have been shooting since 2012, first in Turin, then in the surrounding area, to view the city from different points and distances,” Minato stated in an interview with Corriere Torino, a news agency based in Turin. I eventually began searching for the exact location where the domes of Superga and Monviso lined up.
In 2017, I saw it on a hill in the Chivassese region, about a 40-minute drive from Castagneto Po and San Raffaele Cimena. Ever since, it has become an obsession to have a celestial body frame them both.
For the shot, Minato carefully examined the weather, horizon position, and phases of the moon to within a tenth of a degree of accuracy.
The moon is set “exactly there with a circular appearance, in this case, the crescent half illuminated and the other highlighted by the ashen light of reflection,” according to what he stated. This occurs once a year.
He added that it rained that day for the next five years, and that it wasn’t until December 15, right before dusk, that he was able to get the picture.
