Colors of the Moon Puzzle

Marcella Giulia Pace is an Italian Astrophotographer with a keen interest in capturing the dynamic beauty of our moon as seen from earth. In this composite photo, she presents a series of rising full moons, photographed over 10 years, in 48 different colors. While the moon itself does not change colors, Marcella explores how it transforms from our perspective, depending on its position relative to the sun and earth’s horizon, and the scattering of light caused by the content in our lower atmosphere (such as humidity, cloud levels and suspended dust). The moon’s shape also seems to morph, when at the bottom of the horizon, appearing like an ellipse as refraction compresses the lunar disk at the poles. To spotlight all these perceived changes, Marcella has fashioned her full moons into a spiral that ends with a lunar eclipse (at the lower right). Doubling as a scientific image, this 500-piece puzzle demonstrates primarily how light behaves when passing through the complex strata of our atmosphere, and is a testimony to the beauty that nature presents us every day.