According to my calculations, this configuration (phase of the Moon, position in the sky of the Moon relative to the cathedral, as viewed from that particular spot on the Earth's surface where the photographer stood) would recur every 6,940 days (i.e. approx. every 19 years).
Regards,
Good observation, but the Metonic cycle only accounts for lunar phase, not precession of the moon’s orbit, which will impact the fine resolution and details. I just assumed that they were essentially random. I will revisit your suggestion with JPL Horizons and get back to you.
The Metonic Cycle doesn’t help.
Results from: https://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/horizons/app.html#/
Date_(ZONE)_HR:MN, Date_________JDUT, , ,Azi_(r-app), Elev_(r-app), Illu%, Ang-diam,
*******************************************************************************************
$$SOE
2004-Dec-14 18:59:03.000, 2453354.249340278, ,m, 229.333259, 2.409608, 10.45838, 1986.393,
2023-Dec-15 18:51:17.000, 2460294.243946759, ,m, 229.027273, 2.418662, 9.65119, 1946.977,
2042-Dec-15 18:55:16.000, 2467234.246712963, ,m, 229.672495, 2.419565, 9.84645, 1852.899,
$$EOE
I solved for the time when the moon’s elevation was as close as possible to 2.418622 degrees on dates +/- 6940 from the December 15, 2023, to within one second in time. The azimuths obviously differ, by 0.305986 and 0.645222 degrees in 2004 and 2042. Those values correspond to 0.56 and 1.17 moon diameters respectively, and are no where near +/- 0.01 degrees.