Two dedicated astrophotographers have completed an extraordinary year-long project that captures the celestial choreography of the sun and moon as they trace their paths across the sky over 12 months. Luca Vanzella and Alister Ling's ambitious photographic endeavor documents 13 sunrises and 13 moonrises, creating a stunning visual representation of astronomical movements that most people never notice.
The timing of their project, spanning from June 2024 to June 2025, was particularly significant as it coincided with the major lunar standstill, a rare astronomical phenomenon that occurs only once every 18.6 years. This event represents the widest possible swing of the moon's arc across the sky, making 2025 an ideal year for this type of documentation.
"The Sun and full Moon can be pictured as two children at the playground swinging back and forth in opposite directions; they are far apart at the solstices, and swoosh quickly past each other in the middle at the equinoxes," Ling explained in an email interview. "Yet the Moon's arc is not a perfect mirror of the Sun's; it slowly changes from wider to narrower. It's easiest to see when you use freeze framing to compare them."
The photographers conducted their work in Edmonton, Canada, carefully selecting a location that provided an unobstructed view of the sky across the required 114-degree span of rise points. Their technical setup consisted of 10mm lenses attached to Canon DSLR cameras, with each session involving two shots that were later stitched together to create panoramic images.
Having two photographers collaborate on the project proved essential for maintaining consistency, as it allowed them to cover holidays and personal responsibilities without missing any celestial events. However, weather conditions presented challenges that even the most dedicated team couldn't overcome.
"The odds of clear skies in the mid-latitudes for 13 consecutive monthly sunrises and 13 moonrises are vanishingly small," the photographers noted. "Decades of experience confirm this. So we planned well ahead of time to capture very similar events (month and Moon position) which we could later use as proxies if the weather didn't cooperate."
Weather proved to be their biggest obstacle, with eight of the 13 moonrises obscured by clouds, requiring the use of proxy images captured under similar conditions. The photographers also had to perform post-processing work to maintain the artistic integrity of their images, removing helicopter trails, correcting dead pixels, and eliminating distracting construction floodlights that would have drawn attention away from the celestial subjects.
Beyond the technical challenges of capturing 26 clean sky shots in Canada's variable climate, the project aimed to educate viewers about celestial movements that often go unnoticed by the general public. "Art and science are intertwined in our lives as amateur astronomers; they inspired us to create this poster of the Moon and Sun's motions that is faithful to the skywatching experience while being educational," Vanzella and Ling stated.
Both photographers are active members of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and they view photography as a way to enhance their astronomical hobby while sharing their passion with others. The project represents not only a technical achievement but also an artistic interpretation of natural phenomena that connects viewers to the rhythms of the cosmos. Their work can be followed on Flickr, where they continue to document their ongoing astronomical photography projects.
