WHAT IS THIS LINE? (on my Super Blue Blood Moon Photo) - Smarter Every Day 188

• Supermoon occurs when the Moon is at perigee (closest to Earth) and coincides with a full moon, making it appear really big and bright • Blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month • Blood moon occurs when Earth passes between the Sun and Moon, casting the umbral shadow on the Moon and turning it red

Destin wanted to photograph the blood moon passing in front of the Saturn V rocket model in Huntsville, Alabama at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center.

The first full moon of the month was a rising supermoon, allowing Destin to stand on a bridge west of the rocket and capture photos.

The super blue blood moon was a setting supermoon, requiring positioning on the opposite side of the rocket deep in Huntsville with no direct line of sight, necessitating mathematical calculations.

Destin called in Trevor, who helped with similar calculations during a solar eclipse, to determine the Moon's setting position and how it would align with the rocket.

• Used The Photographer's Ephemeris program to calculate exactly where the lunar eclipse would be behind the Saturn V • Jared provided a drone to scout the optimal height needed to see over trees at All Nations Church in Huntsville, Alabama

The Sun was rising in the east while the Moon was setting, causing ambient light that would blow out the background and leave the rocket underilluminated, so Destin contacted the U.S. Space & Rocket Center to turn on the rocket lights.

A 60-foot boom lift was delivered to the church, allowing Destin and Trevor to harness up, reach 60 feet in the air, and align themselves for the eclipse photo.

Instead of seeing a big blood moon as expected, Destin captured an unexplained optical phenomenon: a line appearing on the Moon that he could not identify.

• The line appears right at the tip of the rocket's launch escape system • The line stays aligned with the very top of the rocket as the Moon crosses it • The line is visible both through the DSLR viewfinder and in the optical path, ruling out a sensor defect

• Not a defect on the camera sensor • Not a mirage because it appears at an angle • Not cables at the rocket top • Not airplane contrails • Not a cloud (only appears when the Moon reaches that location) • Not Schlieren optics

Destin asks the internet for an explanation of what this line is, specifically at the junction of the Launch Escape System on the Saturn V rocket, and invites responses via Twitter at @SmarterEveryDay or @DestinSandlin.

The shot was difficult because the Sun was rising over the opposite side of Earth from the Moon, creating harsh ambient light on the subject while trying to photograph the eclipse.

Destin encourages viewers to attempt similar lunar eclipse photos and tag him on Twitter with their Moon photography, expressing enthusiasm about people being excited about the Moon.

Destin promises to leave links to Trevor's mathematical calculations below the video and share the photos with patrons on Patreon.

Destin emphasizes that we're returning to the Moon and he wants to inspire excitement about lunar exploration, while signing off from the cold boom lift.