Photographing the Major Lunar Standstill over Lake Bled
Last Monday, 13th January 2025, saw a moment at Lake Bled which only happens every 16 years, an extreme moon rising behind the church. In order to plan for this event, I used several apps, but only one proved to be the absolute best app for predicting the moonrise at the exact time and place.
Once a year in January, the Wolf Moon rises over Veliki Vrh peak, in the Karavanke Alps, behind Lake Bled around sunset. This year though, was a bit more special than usual because it is the extreme moon, the major lunar standstill of 2025, which means this full moon would rise at its northernmost point.
The major lunar standstill results from the rotation of the Moon’s inclined orbit over an 18.6-year cycle. Because the greatest monthly excursion of the Moon changes very little during a standstill, we can observe the phenomenon through much of 2025. The last time this happened was in January 2006. Unlike an eclipse, a standstill can be observed at any location on Earth.
But this would be the only time the full moon would rise at sunset, this far north.
Best time to photograph the Moon
While any time is great for photographing the Moon, the best time is either at sunset or sunrise. There are two reasons for this: first you get the glorious golden hour colour, plus the intensity of the moon is diffused by the brighter ambient light in the sky. This allows you to also capture landscape features within your image.
The Moon is full when the Sun is lighting it completely from the front, therefore the Sun has to be opposing the Moon. So in order to capture it right at the point the Sun rises in the east, the Moon needs to be setting in the west (directly opposite). Conversely, to capture it when the Sun sets in the west, the Moon needs to be rising in the east.
Another thing to consider is the time of year. In summer when the Sun sets or rises more to the north, the full moon will rise or set more to the south. In winter it’s the opposite: the Sun rises and sets more to the south, therefore the full moon rises and sets more to the north.
This is why in winter you can capture it rising in this position over Lake Bled castle and church.
Which is the best app for predicting the moonrise in the exact location?
When it comes to planning for an event like this, there are several apps you can use. First of all, the reason I knew the Moon would rise roughly in this position was because of the Photographer’s Ephemeris (TPE), which showed how it would rise in this area from a viewpoint on the western side of the lake.
Sunset was at 4:37. The Moon would rise over the horizon at 3:53 at 49.62 degrees. That was the easy part.
However, it would take some time to come up over the mountains. How long that is very much depends on where it will go, how high the mountain peak is, and the angle at which you are viewing it.
PhotoPills (AR)
Now, PhotoPills is a superb app for planning these kinds of shots. But, to determine with absolute precision where the Moon will rise, you need to be in the spot from which you plan to shoot. PhotoPills is a great planner, and has an AR (Augmented Reality) feature to help you see the trajectory of the Sun or Moon. However, this does not really work well for sun or moon rises when trying to determine the precise point and time it comes over a mountain peak, if the GPS is not 100% accurate. You can manually calibrate by aligning it with the moon or sun, but that is pretty useless for a rise because you cannot see them until they come up!
This is the screenshot of the PhotoPills AR. It shows the moon coming up to the left of the mountain around 4.27pm.
PeakFinder
PeakFinder is a brilliant app for seeing which mountains you are looking at. However, it also gives you details of exactly where the Sun or Moon will rise or set over a mountain peak. Of course you need to be on location to see it, but it doesn’t have to be on the exact day. You can use the calendar to scroll through days and times to see in advance.
When you are there on the day then you can also use it to plan your shoot. Once you know the exact point and time it comes up, you can find your perfect composition in advance and be ready.
Below is a screenshot of what PeakFinder showed me. It shows the Moon coming over the peak more to the right than PhotoPills, and at 4.47pm, 20 minutes later than PhotoPills.
PeakFinder was bang on
OK, so allowing for the fact that my camera was still set to summer daylight saving time, you can see that the Moon came up right at the time that PeakFinder predicted, but more importantly, right in the position indicated.
Mars in Opposition popped up to say hello
A sunset drew into dusk and the moon rose higher, I spotted a big, bright red star also appear over Veliki Vrh, right about where the Moon had risen. So consulted another great app to see what it was.
Stellarium
I quickly consulted the Stellarium app and learned that it was the planet Mars, and it was rising at the place the Moon did!
Mars was not only conjunct with the Moon, but also in opposition. Opposition in astronomy means the planet is opposite the Sun in the sky, and that Mars will appear big and bright: at its best for viewing. It was three days away from direct opposition, where Mars would be at its biggest and brightest.
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