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Title
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They Watch the Moon
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Description
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They Watch the Moon depicts a secret NSA listening station deep in the forests of West Virginia. The station is at the centre of the National Radio Quiet Zone, a region of approximately 34,000 square kilometres in West Virginia and parts of Maryland. Within the Quiet Zone, WiFi, FM radio and similar transmissions are not permitted so that astronomers can use sensitive radio telescopes to observe distant galaxies. The listening station, which forms part of the global ECHELON system, was designed in part to take advantage of a phenomenon called 'moonbounce' (capturing communications and telemetry signals from around the world as they escape into space, hit the moon, and are reflected back towards Earth). The photograph is a long exposure under the full moon.
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Much of the history of surveillance, secrecy, and militarism can be found deep in the American deserts, where classified military bases and weapon ranges litter the remotest landscapes. Tucked away within massive restricted military ranges and buffered by dozens of miles of restricted land, there is often nowhere on Earth where a civilian might be able to see them with an unaided eye. Limit-telephotography involves photographing landscapes that cannot be seen with the unaided eye. The technique employs telescopes whose focal lengths range between 1300mm and 7000mm. At this level of magnification, hidden aspects of the landscape become apparent. Limit-telephotography most closely resembles astrophotography, a technique that astronomers use to photograph objects that might be trillions of miles from Earth. In some ways, however, it is easier to photograph the depths of the solar system than it is to photograph the recesses of the military industrial complex. Between Earth and Jupiter (500 million miles away), for example, there are about five miles of thick, breathable atmosphere. In contrast, there are upwards of forty miles of thick atmosphere between an observer and the sites in this series.
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Creator
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Paglen, Trevor
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Date
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2010
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Type
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photograph
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Extent
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36 x 48 inches
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place of repository
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San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
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Identifier
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2011.264
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Is Part Of
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Limit Telephotography (series)
They Watch the Moon