Forensic astronomers date famous photograph

From Yahoo News:

“Autumn Moon, the High Sierra from Glacier Point,” taken by Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park, is a thrilling view of the American West, featuring a waxing Moon rising over dark, ice-tinged peaks.

But precisely when Adams took the iconic black-and-white picture has never been clear, and dates for it range from the mid to the late 1940s.

A team led by Donald Olson, a professor of physics and astronomy at Southwest Texas State University, claim that the mystery can be resolved.

The linked article includes the details and a copy of the photograph. One interesting fact is that the identification of time, date, and location resulted from the discovery of an original color exposure of the image.

One thought on “Forensic astronomers date famous photograph”

  1. This isn’t the first time this has been done. In Ansel Adams’
    book “An Autobiography,” in the chapter on Nation Parks he discusses another date
    correction done I’m assuming in the late 1970’s. Adams
    had misdated MOONRISE for many years, labeling it 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944.
    Dr. David Elmore computed the actual date to be October 31, 1941, between 4:00
    and 4:05P.M.

    Technology is amazing.

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