KARACHI: A NED University of Engineering and Technology graduate and young amateur astronomer from Karachi, Talha Zia’s composite of 12 single images documenting the full moon has been displayed on the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), as reported by Dawn.
According to NASA’s website, the 12 full moons captured by Zia, represent “every lunation from 2016 November through 2017 October, as imaged from Pakistan”.
Another interesting element captured in Zia’s images is the partial lunar eclipse visible on the Aug 2017 full moon. Zia explained how the photos “were taken at different timings due to weather and atmospheric conditions”.
Zia has had a keen interest in physics and astronomy since childhood and in 2015 joined the Karachi Astronomers’ Society to further explore his interest.
Another set of Zia’s images of the moon has been displayed on EarthSky.org in celebration of International Moon Observing Night on Oct 28.