Category: Moon

A fantastic image of the Moon with Earthshine taken by member Jim Burchell on the 29th August 2024.  This is a single shot image which was processed in Snapseed.  Details of how Jim acquired his image are on the photo.

A super image of the Moon taken by member Diane Clarke on the 15th May 2024. During this day the phase of the Moon is First Quarter.  The Moon is 49.91% illuminated; which is the percentage of the moon that is illuminated by the Sun. The Moon was 7.37 days old, which shows how many days it has been since the last New Moon.

Diane's image is a stacked image from a 10 min AVI file.  Taken with a Seestar s50, using Autostakkert, with slight colour correction using Affinity Photo.

You should also be able to make out the clair-obscur effects on the Moon known as the Lunar X and V in this image too. 

Lunar X and V are famous optical features on the Moon, visible for several hours around the time of the First Quarter through a telescope.  When the Moon’s terminator; the line between light and dark on the Moon is just in the right place, you can see a letter X and a letter V on the Moon’s surface.

Lunar X and V are examples of how lighting and topography can combine to produce a pattern that seems familiar to the human eye.  The X is formed when parts of the rims of the craters La Caille (68km wide), Blanchinus (68km) and Purbach (118km) catch the Sun’s light. The V is caused by Sun light illuminating the Moon close to the crater Ukert along with several smaller craters.

For more information check out https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/advice/skills/lunar-x-v and https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/what-is-lunar-x/

A stunning collection of photos of the Moon taken on the 12th May 2024 by Neil Webster.  The Moon was 25.1% illuminated and 4.71 days old.

AA115mm APO EQ6 R, ZWO ASI290MM, R/IR filter

4 frames stitched in Microsoft ICE: each 90sx33fps. Best 20% stacked in AutoStakkert.

Acquisition: firecapture
Processing: AutoStakkert & Photoshop

For higher resolution photos of the above; check out Neils flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/

A Waxing Crescent Moon taken by member Neil Webster on the 11th May 2024.  The Moon was 16.3% illuminated and 3.66 days old.

Neil used a R/IR filter (642 - 840nm) when taking his image.

Check out Neil's flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/

A super image of a Waxing Crescent Moon taken by Dr Mike Rushton on the 15th April 2024.  The Moon was 7 days old, 46% illuminated and in the constellation Gemini.

Mike captured the image using a smartscope called a Dwarf II.  The photo is a stack of 30 x 1/250 second images at gain 0 but with no filter (except IR cut).