This is not a time lapse. This moonrise, recorded just two days ago and presented here in real time, was shot in Wellington, New Zealand — and it is positively spellbinding. Seriously. Just watch.


The moon illusion is working overtime here, thanks to some clever camera placement by astrophotographer Mark Gee, who set up shop a full two kilometers away from Mount Victoria Lookout in anticipation of the Moon's appearance over the horizon. Writes Gee of the video, which he calls, appropriately, "Full Moon Silhouettes":

Full Moon Silhouettes is a real time video of the moon rising over the Mount Victoria Lookout in Wellington, New Zealand. People had gathered up there this night to get the best view possible of the moon rising. I captured the video from 2.1km away on the other side of the city. It's something that I've been wanting to photograph for a long time now, and a lot of planning and failed attempts had taken place. Finally, during moon rise on the 28th January 2013, everything fell into place and I got my footage.


Oh, to be one of the stargazers silhouetted against this brilliantly limned orb, our planet's largest satellite. You'll want to watch this one in full screen, HD, etc.

[Mark Gee via NASA APOD]