Majestic Full Flower Moon Rises Over North Carolina (Photo)

'Flower Moon' by Greg Diesel Walck
Astrophotographer Greg Diesel Walck sent in a photo of the full moon rising over Bells Island, NC, on May 15, 2014. (Image credit: Greg Diesel Walck/www.facebook.com/GregDieselPhotography)

A stunning full moon rises over Bells Island, North Carolina, in a serene combination of earth and sky in this amazing photo captured by a veteran astrophotographer.

Photographer Greg Diesel Walck captured the amazing moon photo on May 14 during the Full Flower Moon of May.

"I have taken over 15,000 images to date of the moon, [but] I still get excited with the anticipation of the moon appearing low on the horizon," Walck told Space.com in an email. Since the moonrise occurred in the southeast, Walck calculated a new area from which to shoot over the marsh area of Bells Island, North Carolina. He used a zoom lens to obtain the photo five minutes after the sun had set. [The Moon: 10 Surprising Facts]

"[The location] was a small country road and … drivers actually pulled over to watch [because] it was a spectacular moonrise," he added.

12" Moon Globe. Buy Here (Image credit: Space.com Store)

The full moon of May gets its Flower Moon name from the flowers usually bloom in abundance during this time, according to the Farmer's Almanac. The May full moon also has several other names, including "Full Corn Planting Moon" and "Milk Moon."

Walck used a Sony A77 camera on a tripod with a remote release. On Facebook, Walck mentioned that he will release a version of this image on canvas.

To see more amazing night sky photos submitted by Space.com readers, visit our astrophotography archive.

Editor's note: If you have an amazing night sky photo you'd like to share for a possible story or image gallery, please contact managing editor Tariq Malik at spacephotos@space.com.

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Tom Chao
Tom Chao has contributed to SPACE.com as a producer and writer since 2000. As a writer and editor, he has worked for the Voyager Company, Time Inc. New Media, HarperCollins and Worth Publishers. He has a bachelor’s degree in Cinema Production from the University of Southern California, and a master’s degree from NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Tom on Google+.