Full moon shot and how to fit it all in your scope

I was able to finally get a full moon shot in one photo. I have mixed thoughts on this. First off it is very satisfying to get the entire moon in one shot. It is also extremely easy to process as one photo rather than a mosaic of several at once.

For white a while I was trying to get all my wide shots into the view of the scope. In this case I used my 6se, the c-11 I have not used yet. . . my neighborhood isn’t the greatest and after a close call I have decided to wait to take it out when I move.  Let me digress, with the 6se, I had large objects or wide field shots I would see done and wonder how they were taken. I did quite a bit of digging and experimenting.  I normally would have to take 9 shots to fit the entire moon disk into one mosaic photo.  I found using correctors and focal reducers I was able to fit the entire disk into the shot. The only draw back is that the focal reducers make the optics faster, meaning more light and having to drop down the gain and exposure time.

The equipment list for the shots in this article I used the following (links are to help you find the equipment instead of having to dig for them like I had, I’m not endorsing any product.):

Celestron 6se

Celestron neximager 5

Celestron f/6.3 focal reducer

Orion 0.5x Focal Reducer for StarShoot G3 Imaging Cameras

I also used the moon filter that came with the celestron lens and eyepiece kit in the bundle pack.

For software I used the i-cap from celestron and registax 6 with the 6.1 update installed. and Photoshop for final processing.

I tried a few different settings in the photos I’m not trilled with them as far as detail goes, that’s the draw back from getting the entire picture in one shot. I am going to spend a considerable amount of time experimenting with the settings on the camera to see if I can get better shots through better settings.  The thing I am happy about is that I was able to get a rather large shot of a wide view

I’m goign to link my photo album here where you can get the full moon in a 16bit .tif file or the jpeg. I don’t mind you using it just give credit when it applies.

Jpeg versions are as follows:

First of the 4 pics I took

second in the series

third in the series

4thin the series

 

 

The Moon: Plato, Anaxagoras, Endymion, and many more

Super moon quadrant

My oh my there is a whole lot going on in this area of the moon. There are two seas, Mare Serenitatis “Sea of Serenity, as well as Mare Imbrium “Sea of Showers” or “Sea of Rains.” A stunningly circular crater Plato. A few other locations such as Anaxagoras, Posidonius, Astoteles, atlas, Herculese, And Endymion. There is a beautiful mountain range that extends for miles along the center of this photo, oddly I couldn’t find a name for the range it’s very prominent looking like a spine reaching from Copernicus to Plato.

Many features I mentioned in the post are labeled

I have far too many features than I can make into an article I want ot revisit some of these in the future to give each one a shot Plato was one spot I definitely took interest in.  I was not too thrilled with the way the Celestron Neximager 5 performed while zooming in in comparison with the Orion deep space video camera. However I’m going to give it another shot because there was a thin layer of clouds that rolled in and sat on target. This could throw off the ability to get a clear image while zoomed in.

Plato is the lava-filled remains of a lunar impact crater. The flat floor of Plato has a relatively low albedo, making it appear dark. The smooth floor doesn’t posses any large impact craters and doesn’t have a peak in the middle. However there are a few small craterlets scattered across the floor.

Plato has developed a reputation for transient lunar phenomena, including flashes of light, unusual color patterns, and areas of hazy visibility. These anomalies are likely a result of seeing conditions, combined with the effects of different illumination angles of the Sun. Two other places that this happens in Aristarchus and Alphonsus, reportedly. They have so far not been recorded. If this is captured in photos it could make a real contribution to science.

Mare Imbrium was created when lava flooded the giant crater formed when a very large object hit the Moon long ago. Estimates of its age range from 3 billion to 4.5 billion years.^[2] Mare Imbrium is the second larges sea on the trailing behind Oceanus Procellarum having a diameter of 1146 km.

Plato:

Diameter:    109KM/ 67.73 Miles – Depth: 1 KM/ 62 Miles

Anaxagoras:

Diameter:    51.9KM/ 32.25 Miles – Depth: 3KM/ 1.864Miles

The rays spread out over 900 kilometers/559.234 miles

Posidonius:

Diameter:    95KM/ 59.03 Miles – Depth: 2.3KM/ 1.43 Miles

Mare Imbrium: “Sea of Showers” or “Sea of Rains”

Diameter: 1146 km (712.09 mi)

Mare Serenitatis: “Sea of Serenity”

Diameter: 674 km (418.804 mi)

The Moon: Tycho, Mare Humorum, & Mare Nubium

Another Pane in the Super Moon Series I took.

Section showing a few prominent features, such as Tycho

Again I missed the super moon on the exact date, but I was able to get out the first possible day which was 2 days, 9-10-2014 to get some photos. Fun fact about this photo, a light cloud had settled in right in between me and the moon. . .seriously it did that and sat there but I still got this photo.  (Shakes fist at the sky)

When looking at the moon you will see this area in the south west quadrant. the most noticeable and distinguishable feature is the Impact crater Tycho. Tycho is a relatively young crater, with an estimated age of 108 million years (Ma), based on analysis of samples of the crater ray recovered during the Apollo 17 mission. This age suggests that the impactor may have been a member of the Baptistina family of asteroids, but as the composition of the impactor is unknown this is currently conjecture. However, simulation studies give a 70 percent probability that the crater was created by a fragment from the same break-up that created asteroid 298 Baptistina;^[1] which was previously believed to be responsible for the formation of Chicxulub Crater and the extinction of the dinosaurs. However, that possibility was potentially ruled out by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer in 2011.

Notable features such as: Tycho, Mare Humorum, Mare Nubium, Pitatus, Apollo 12 & Apollo 14 landing locations

Notable facts about the features noted:

Tycho:

Diameter:    86.21KM/ 53.57 Miles – Depth: 4.8 KM/ 2.983 Miles

The rays spread out over 1,500 kilometers/932.06 miles

Piatus:

Diameter:    97KM/ 60.273 Miles – Depth: .9KM/ 0.55 Miles

Bullialdus:

Diameter:    61KM/ 37.9036 Miles – Depth: 3.5KM/ 2.175 Miles

Mare Humorum: “Sea of Moisture“

Diameter: 389 km (242 mi)

Mare Nubium: “Sea of Clouds”

Diameter: 715 km (444 mi

The Moon: Kepler and Copernicus

two craters, Kepler and Copernicus

I had done the moon a few times in the past, but never really had pictures I was thrilled with. August 8th, 2014 wa the last of the “super moons” for the year. that night it rained here and the following night same thing. After many of my Facebook friends were snapping shots with tier phones and sending me pics. . .I had to do something! Unfortunately with my scope, it  doesn’t let me take a full Moon shot, so I will have to make a mosaic.

Two prominent features, the two craters Kepler and Copernicus are seen. The mountain range in the east has a few mountains in it.to the south of Copernicus is an Apollo 12 & 14 landing sites. I took some time to label the larger notable features I referenced Google earth’s moon map.

Main features labeled

This was the first time using my Neximager5, for what ever reason I had forgotten to use it on the moon, probably because I had avoided the moon so much, it cuts down on light for DSO’s and I would operate opposite of the full moon to get darker skies. I ended Up taking a fist full of shots but I want to give each one the attention they deserve! Please enjoy and look around!

Some of the features of the marked areas:

Kepler:

Diam: 32 km/19.9Miles, Depth: 2.7 km/1.68Miles

The rays extend for well over 300 km /86.41Miles

Copernicus:

Diam: 93 km/57.8Miles, Depth:3.8 km/2.36Miles

The rays extend for well over 800 km /497.1Miles

Pytheas:

Diam: 20 km/12.43Miles, Depth: 2.5 km/1.55Miles

Grimaldi:

Diam: 173.49 km/107.8Miles, Depth:2.7 km/1.68Miles

Aristarchus:

Diam: 40 km/24.86Miles, Depth: 3.7 km/2.3Miles