Andrew Yee
August 23rd 05, 05:14 PM
Sky & Telescope
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Contacts:
Don Olson, Texas State University
512-245-2131
Marcy McCreary
617-864-7360 x143
Press Release: August 22, 2005
Astronomers Date Ansel Adam's Autumn Moon
Note to Editors/Producers: This release is being simultaneously issued by
Sky & Telescope and Texas State University. Digital images suitable for
print publication are available; see details below.
No single person in history has done more to reveal the splendor of the
American West on film than famed photographer Ansel Adams.
Now, a team of astronomers at Texas State University, San Marcos, have
applied their unique brand of forensic astronomy to Adams's Autumn Moon,
the High Sierra from Glacier Point, shedding new light on the celestial
scene -- and rediscovering a long-lost Adams photo in the process.
Texas State physics professors Donald Olson and Russell Doescher, along
with Mitte Honors students Kara Holsinger, Louie Dean Valencia, and Ashley
Ralph, publish their findings in the October 2005 edition of Sky &
Telescope magazine.
Solving the Mystery
Adams kept detailed notes on the technical aspects of his photographs --
exposure time, film type, lens settings -- but information about the
location, date, and time of his images was often incomplete or
contradictory. Such is the case with Autumn Moon, taken by Adams in
Yosemite National Park and featuring a waxing gibbous Moon rising over
mountains of the Clark Range in the southeast. Various sources give the
date of the photograph as 1944, while others list it as 1948. After
consulting lunar tables, topographic maps, weather records, and
astronomical software, the Texas State researchers determined that Adams
created Autumn Moon on Sept. 15, 1948, at 7:03 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
As part of their research, the group visited Yosemite in the spring for
extensive on-site double-checking of their findings. Additionally, the
team determined that Adams had set up his tripod just off the trail below
the stone Geology Hut at Glacier Point, pinpointing the location to within
10 feet. Olson and Doescher, along with another team of honors students,
used similar techniques in 1994 to pinpoint the time, date, and location
Adams photographed his famous Moon and Half Dome.
An Unexpected Discovery
In the course of research, Olson stumbled across something wholly
unanticipated: a color version of Autumn Moon, published in the July 1954
issue of Fortune magazine. Adams is best known for his black-and-white
photography, so this color photograph by him was a rare find. "Imagine my
surprise when I turned the page and saw this color moonrise photograph by
Ansel Adams," said Olson. "We checked with several Ansel Adams experts.
None of the Adams experts we spoke with had seen this photo -- all of us
had been totally unaware that a color version of Autumn Moon existed."
Some additional investigation revealed that beginning in the 1940s,
Eastman Kodak commissioned professional photographers to "beta test" new
color sheet film, and Adams was one of the photographers who participated
in the program. Eventually, the results were published in an article
titled "Test Exposures: Six Photographs from a Film Manufacturer's Files."
The cloud formations and shadows in the scene matched those in the
well-known Autumn Moon, leaving no doubt that the two shots were taken
during the same session. By overlaying the two photos and measuring how
far the Moon had risen between exposures, the researchers determined that
the color version was taken at 7:01 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, roughly 2_
minutes prior to the black-and-white version -- just enough time for Adams
to change the film holder and adjust the settings on his camera.
Encore Performance
For fans of Adams's photography, 2005 offers a rare opportunity to relive
the scene of Autumn Moon -- both color and black-and-white versions. This
year, the progression of 19-year-long lunar Metonic cycles coincides with
that of 1948 -- meaning that skywatchers at Glacier Point are in for a
celestial encore. On September 15, 2005, exactly three Metonic cycles will
have passed since Adams photographed a waxing gibbous Moon rising over the
Clark Range, presenting a scene that will closely duplicate the one in
1948.
"Even the direction of sunlight and shadows will be repeated this year,"
said Olson. "Our group plans to be on Glacier Point when the Moon's
position will match the Adams photographs at 6:50 p.m. and 6:52 p.m.
Pacific Daylight Time on September 15th. The balance of light between the
rising Moon, the setting Sun and the shadows in the foreground mountains
will last for just a few minutes and will provide a rare opportunity to
share Ansel Adams's experience from half a century ago."
Editors/Producers: Upon request from accredited media representatives, Sky
& Telescope or Texas State University will e-mail an Adobe PDF file of the
October 2005 S&T article by Olson, Doescher, and their students. Please
contact Marcy McCreary at 617-864-7360 x143 or mmccreary @
SkyandTelescope.com, or Jayme Blaschke, TSU Media Relations and
Publications, at 512-245-2180 or JB71 @ TxState.edu. Publication-quality
digital files of most of the images in the PDF -- but not Autumn Moon by
Ansel Adams -- are available from the same sources. If you end up using
any of these images in your own story, they must be credited as they are
in the S&T article.
Autumn Moon itself may not be reproduced without permission from the
copyright holder. To obtain permission and a publication-quality digital
file, please contact Corbis, Inc., at 800-260-0444 or service @
corbis.com. Once permission and the image are obtained, the credit line
"Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust / Corbis" must be included alongside
the photograph.
Sky Publishing Corp. was founded in 1941 by Charles A. Federer Jr. and
Helen Spence Federer, the original editors of Sky & Telescope magazine.
The company's headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In addition to Sky &
Telescope and SkyandTelescope.com, the company publishes Night Sky
magazine (a bimonthly for beginners with a Web site at NightSkyMag.com),
two annuals (Beautiful Universe and SkyWatch), as well as books, star
atlases, posters, prints, globes, and other fine astronomy products.
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Contacts:
Don Olson, Texas State University
512-245-2131
Marcy McCreary
617-864-7360 x143
Press Release: August 22, 2005
Astronomers Date Ansel Adam's Autumn Moon
Note to Editors/Producers: This release is being simultaneously issued by
Sky & Telescope and Texas State University. Digital images suitable for
print publication are available; see details below.
No single person in history has done more to reveal the splendor of the
American West on film than famed photographer Ansel Adams.
Now, a team of astronomers at Texas State University, San Marcos, have
applied their unique brand of forensic astronomy to Adams's Autumn Moon,
the High Sierra from Glacier Point, shedding new light on the celestial
scene -- and rediscovering a long-lost Adams photo in the process.
Texas State physics professors Donald Olson and Russell Doescher, along
with Mitte Honors students Kara Holsinger, Louie Dean Valencia, and Ashley
Ralph, publish their findings in the October 2005 edition of Sky &
Telescope magazine.
Solving the Mystery
Adams kept detailed notes on the technical aspects of his photographs --
exposure time, film type, lens settings -- but information about the
location, date, and time of his images was often incomplete or
contradictory. Such is the case with Autumn Moon, taken by Adams in
Yosemite National Park and featuring a waxing gibbous Moon rising over
mountains of the Clark Range in the southeast. Various sources give the
date of the photograph as 1944, while others list it as 1948. After
consulting lunar tables, topographic maps, weather records, and
astronomical software, the Texas State researchers determined that Adams
created Autumn Moon on Sept. 15, 1948, at 7:03 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
As part of their research, the group visited Yosemite in the spring for
extensive on-site double-checking of their findings. Additionally, the
team determined that Adams had set up his tripod just off the trail below
the stone Geology Hut at Glacier Point, pinpointing the location to within
10 feet. Olson and Doescher, along with another team of honors students,
used similar techniques in 1994 to pinpoint the time, date, and location
Adams photographed his famous Moon and Half Dome.
An Unexpected Discovery
In the course of research, Olson stumbled across something wholly
unanticipated: a color version of Autumn Moon, published in the July 1954
issue of Fortune magazine. Adams is best known for his black-and-white
photography, so this color photograph by him was a rare find. "Imagine my
surprise when I turned the page and saw this color moonrise photograph by
Ansel Adams," said Olson. "We checked with several Ansel Adams experts.
None of the Adams experts we spoke with had seen this photo -- all of us
had been totally unaware that a color version of Autumn Moon existed."
Some additional investigation revealed that beginning in the 1940s,
Eastman Kodak commissioned professional photographers to "beta test" new
color sheet film, and Adams was one of the photographers who participated
in the program. Eventually, the results were published in an article
titled "Test Exposures: Six Photographs from a Film Manufacturer's Files."
The cloud formations and shadows in the scene matched those in the
well-known Autumn Moon, leaving no doubt that the two shots were taken
during the same session. By overlaying the two photos and measuring how
far the Moon had risen between exposures, the researchers determined that
the color version was taken at 7:01 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, roughly 2_
minutes prior to the black-and-white version -- just enough time for Adams
to change the film holder and adjust the settings on his camera.
Encore Performance
For fans of Adams's photography, 2005 offers a rare opportunity to relive
the scene of Autumn Moon -- both color and black-and-white versions. This
year, the progression of 19-year-long lunar Metonic cycles coincides with
that of 1948 -- meaning that skywatchers at Glacier Point are in for a
celestial encore. On September 15, 2005, exactly three Metonic cycles will
have passed since Adams photographed a waxing gibbous Moon rising over the
Clark Range, presenting a scene that will closely duplicate the one in
1948.
"Even the direction of sunlight and shadows will be repeated this year,"
said Olson. "Our group plans to be on Glacier Point when the Moon's
position will match the Adams photographs at 6:50 p.m. and 6:52 p.m.
Pacific Daylight Time on September 15th. The balance of light between the
rising Moon, the setting Sun and the shadows in the foreground mountains
will last for just a few minutes and will provide a rare opportunity to
share Ansel Adams's experience from half a century ago."
Editors/Producers: Upon request from accredited media representatives, Sky
& Telescope or Texas State University will e-mail an Adobe PDF file of the
October 2005 S&T article by Olson, Doescher, and their students. Please
contact Marcy McCreary at 617-864-7360 x143 or mmccreary @
SkyandTelescope.com, or Jayme Blaschke, TSU Media Relations and
Publications, at 512-245-2180 or JB71 @ TxState.edu. Publication-quality
digital files of most of the images in the PDF -- but not Autumn Moon by
Ansel Adams -- are available from the same sources. If you end up using
any of these images in your own story, they must be credited as they are
in the S&T article.
Autumn Moon itself may not be reproduced without permission from the
copyright holder. To obtain permission and a publication-quality digital
file, please contact Corbis, Inc., at 800-260-0444 or service @
corbis.com. Once permission and the image are obtained, the credit line
"Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust / Corbis" must be included alongside
the photograph.
Sky Publishing Corp. was founded in 1941 by Charles A. Federer Jr. and
Helen Spence Federer, the original editors of Sky & Telescope magazine.
The company's headquarters are in Cambridge, Massachusetts, near the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. In addition to Sky &
Telescope and SkyandTelescope.com, the company publishes Night Sky
magazine (a bimonthly for beginners with a Web site at NightSkyMag.com),
two annuals (Beautiful Universe and SkyWatch), as well as books, star
atlases, posters, prints, globes, and other fine astronomy products.