Observing the Moon
The Moons seems such an obvious object but there is much to be observed, with just your mark 1 eyeball try observing the different phases, the order they occur and the time of day best to observe them. Look for the highlands and seas and see if you can spot the wobble of the moon (libration).
However if you have a telescope try observing the Lunar 100, or imaging the Moon’s features.
BAA Lunar Section | Wikipedia Entry
Recommended Filters
Neutral Density (ND) filters to remove the glare
Fringe Killer to remove any colour cast from refractor telescopes.
Imaging Filters:
IR Pass filter to improve the seeing.
Slideshow
The Moon – April 2025
Below are a super selection of images by CMHASD members of our Moon between the 2nd and 8th April 2025.
The Moon – April 8th 2025 by Neil Webster
Waxing Gibbous at 82% illuminated.
Check out Neil’s flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/
The Moon – 6th April 2025 by Neil Webster
Waxing Gibbous at 64% illuminated.
Check out Neil’s flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/
The Moon – 5th April 2025 by Diane Clarke
First Quarter at 54% illuminated.
Diane took her image using a Seestar S50 smartscope
The Moon – 2nd April 2025 by Simon Dawes
Waxing Crescent at 22% illuminated.
Details of how Simon took his images are on the photos.
Total Lunar Eclipse from Arizona, USA – 14th March 2025
Member Richard Bohner who lives in Arizona, USA took these two lovely photos of the Total Lunar Eclipse on the 14th March 2025.
Partial Lunar Eclipse – 14th March 2025
On March 14, 2025, a total lunar eclipse, visible as a partial eclipse in the UK occurred during the early morning hours. Below are a selection of images that members took of the event from the UK.
By Jim Burchell
By Jo Southgate using an iPhone
And by CMHASD trustee Keith Rickard using a camera phone
Moon Craters by Simon Dawes – 9th March 2025
Three fab images of the Moon’s craters taken by CMHASD trustee Simon Dawes on the 9th March 2025 from Bexley, Kent. Details of how Simon took the images are on each photo.
Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter by Honor Wheeler – 1st March 2025
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
A superb selection of astro images taken by member Honor Wheeler on the 1st March 2025 of the Sun, Moon and the planetary parade.
Details of how Honor took her images are written above each image.
Venus phase – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens, ISO400, f6.3, 1/16000sec.
Even when Venus is a fine crescent, the albedo of Venus is still high.
Sunset Sunspots – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens. ISO100, f29, 1/16000sec.
Sunset – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens. ISO200, f10, 1/800sec
Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Moon and Mercury – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens. ISO500, 1/2sec taken using Samyang 8mm fish-eye lens.
Venus, Earthshine and Mercury – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens. ISO640, f5.0, 1/3sec.
Earthshine – Canon M6II with Tamron 18-400mm lens. ISO640, f6.3, 1″1/3sec
Daytime Moon by Diane Clarke – 6th March 2025
A lovely image of the Moon taken by CMHASD member Diane Clarke on the 6th March 2025 in the afternoon. Diane used her Seestar S50 smartscope to take the image.
The Moon by Neil Webster – 4th March 2025
Another stunning image of the Moon taken by CMHASD member Neil Webster on Tuesday evening; 4th March 2025.
The Waxing Crescent Moon was 30.0% illuminated and 4.84 days old.
Neil acquired the image using an AA 115mm Apo, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI 290MM, and a Astronomik R/IR filter. 3 frames stitched in Microsoft ICE. Each 90s x 33fps (20% selected)
Processed using Firecapture, AutoStakkert, and PhotoShop.
Sun, Moon, Mercury & Venus by Jim Burchell – 1st, 2nd and 3rd March 2025
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
A lovely selection of images taken by member Jim Burchell. Details of how Jim took the images are on most of the photos.
1st March 2025
2nd March 2025
Crescent Venus below….
3rd March 2025
Moon & Mercury – 1st March 2025
CMHASD trustee John Howarth spotted Mercury with a crescent Moon on the 1st March 2025 and quickly took these 2 photos from Bexley.
The first photo shows the Moon top right and Mercury, very faint but clearly visible, halfway down the roof line, just above the cloud near the end of a twig. The second photo just shows a faint Mercury in about the same spot.
Friday 3rd January 2025
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
A superb selection of member images taken on Friday 3rd January 2025.
The Sun at midday taken by Dr Mike Rushton taken using a Dwarf II smart scope. 20 x 1/250 sec at Gain 0 with a ND6 solar filter.
The Sun taken by Honor Wheeler
The Sun taken by Jim Burchell
The Pleiades by Dr Mike Rushton using a Dwarf II smart scope. 200 x 10sec exposures at Gain 60.
Crescent Moon and Venus taken by Honor Wheeler. Venus is top right of the Moon.
Saturn, Venus and the Moon taken by Honor Wheeler. Venus is top right of the Moon and Saturn is near the top left corner of the image.
Thursday 2nd Jan 2025











Lunar Corona by Honor Wheeler – 15th Dec 2024
Light cloud passing over the Moon; producing some rather spectacular Lunar Corona were caught on camera by Honor Wheeler on the 15th Dec 2024. One of Honor’s images also made it to the front page on spaceweather.com😁 It was the last Full Moon of 2024 too and known as the ‘Cold Moon’.
Sun & Moon – 14th Dec 2024
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
A stunning set of images of the Sun by Honor Wheeler and a beautiful one of the Moon by Jim Burchell taken on the 14th Dec 2024.
The Sun by Honor Wheeler
Honor said ”I’ve had about 20 mins in-between the cloud to capture the Sun in white light with my ED80 refractor and the Sun in H-alpha. In H-alpha there is a massive prominence visible which took me by surprise when I got the camera on it. Shame I can’t follow the sun for longer as a neighbours tree and cloud are in the way.”
The combined image of the sun; with the H-alpha image inverted and then the white light disc added.
The Moon by Jim Burchell
A very atmospheric photo of a Waxing Gibbous Moon which was 13.58 days old and 99.76% illuminated.
First Quarter Moon by Neil Webster – 6th Jan 2025
A fantastic mosaic image of the Moon taken by member Neil Webster on the 6th Jan 2025. The Moon was 6.85 days old and 47.8% illuminated.
Below are the individual frames from the mosaic.
Neil acquired the images using an AA 115mm apo, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI 290MM, and a Astronomik R/IR filter.
Processed using Firecapture, AutoStakkert, PS, and Microsoft ICE.
8 frames (each 90 x 33fps). 20% selected by AS.
Check out Neil’s flickr page at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/
Hunter’s Supermoon – by Honor Wheeler
This is a lovely image of the largest and brightest Full Moon of 2024 that lit up the skies of Earth on the 17th Oct, taken by member Honor Wheeler from Dartford whilst waiting for the comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas to made an appearance. This Full Moon is also known as the Hunter’s Supermoon. October’s full Moon is called the Hunter’s Moon because it occurs when hunters would traditionally have been most active.
”People in the Northern Hemisphere spent October preparing for the coming winter by hunting, slaughtering, and preserving meats, giving this Full Moon its Anglo-Saxon name Hunter’s Moon. The name was added to the Farmer’s Almanac in North America and is used widely today.
Native Americans named this Full Moon after things that happen in the fall, including Drying Rice Moon, Falling Leaves Moon, and Freezing Moon. The Celts used Seed Fall Moon in the same way.
The names Pagan Blood Moon or Sanguine Moon have also been used for this Full Moon. However, these names should not be confused with a Blood Moon—another name for a total lunar eclipse.” Ref:https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/hunters.html
October’s Full Moon was also a Supermoon too.
”Supermoons happen because the moon’s orbit isn’t a perfect circle around Earth but is instead an oval, or ellipse. That means that sometimes our lunar companion is closer to Earth, reaching its closest point to us in what is known as perigee. Other times, it is further away, during what is known as its apogee. When the Moon is close to perigee during a Full Moon, that’s a Supermoon. On Thursday 17th Oct, as the Full Moon rose, the Moon arrived at its closest point to Earth, sitting at just 221,938 miles (357,174 km) away. There have been two Supermoons in 2024 thus far, in August and September, and there will be another in November, but October’s Hunter’s Supermoon will be the biggest and brightest of 2024. That’s because this is the closest occurrence of a perigee to a Full Moon.” Ref:https://www.space.com/hunters-moon-supermoon-2024-photos
Moon – 24th Oct 2024 by Neil Webster
A stunning image of a waning gibbous Moon by Neil Webster taken at 6.45am on the 24th Oct 2024. The Moon was 51.0% illuminated and 21.46 days old.
Neil acquired the image by using a AA115 Apo, EQ6 R, ZWO ASI 290MM, and Astronomik R/IR Filter.
Check out Neil’s flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05/54090033889/in/photostream/ to see a higher resolution photo of this image.
Super Harvest Moon – 17th September 2024
A superb selection of images taken by members Jim Burchell and Honor Wheeler on the 17th September 2024 of the Super Harvest Moon.
Why is this Full Moon called a Super Harvest Moon?
”Supermoons occur at perigee: the point in the Moon’s orbit where it’s closest to Earth. A perigee full Moon appears a little brighter and larger than an average full Moon, and is known by some as a ‘supermoon’. The technical name for a ‘supermoon’ is a perigee syzygy Moon.” Ref:https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/supermoon-what-when-next
Plus Full Moon names reflect the time of year they happen and the Harvest Moon graces the skies in the harvest season in the Northern Hemisphere. The Harvest Moon is also the Full Moon nearest the autumn equinox, which happens around September 22, depending on the year and time zone.
Fly me to the Moon by Honor Wheeler
Image taken using a Canon M6II camera, 400mm lens, ISO800, F7.1 and EXP1/800s.
Moon with Saturn (Composite image) by Honor Wheeler
Images taken using a Canon M6II camera, 177mm lens, ISO800, F7.1 and EXP1/3s.
Super Harvest Moon by Honor Wheeler
Image taken using Canon M6II camera, 400mm lens, ISO800, F7.1 and EXP1/8s.
Super Harvest Moon taken by Jim Burchell
This image was taken using a Pentax KP body attached to a 102 mm refactor, F11, 1/80 sec and iso 100.
Moon & Cloud by Jim Burchell
This is a cropped image. taken using a Pentax KP, F11, 1/125 sec, 300 mm and ISO 100
For more information check out https://www.skyatnightmagazine.com/space-science/supermoon-what-when-next and https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/harvest.html
The next Supermoon is on Thursday 17th October.
Crescent Moon & Venus by Richard Bohner
A lovely photo of the crescent Moon and Venus captured by member Richard Bohner from the USA. The single shot photo was taken on 4th September 2024 with a Canon 6D camera and 135mm lens f2.8. ISO 1600 @ 1/30 second exposure from Cottonwood, Arizona, USA.
Moon with Earthshine – 29th August 2024
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.
The Sun & Moon – 25th August 2024
NEVER LOOK AT THE SUN DIRECTLY. Please click here for solar observing safely.
Jim Burchell, Simon Dawes & Dr Mike Rushton imaged the Sun in white light on the 25th August 2024 and below are their splendid results. As you can see the Sun was very active.
Mike used his Dwarf II smart scope to acquire his image below.
Jim used a Pentax KP body attached to 102mm Altair Astro F11 refractor fitted with a Solar filter. The mage of the Sun is a single shot and then processed in Snapseed.
Below is an image of the Sun taken from Spaceweather.com on the same day with the sunspots numbered.
Simon’s images are of the Sunspots and as you will see some of the sunspots are rather stunning. Details of how Simon acquired his images are on the photos.
Later that day Jim captured this super image of a Waning Gibbous Moon. The moon was 20.65 days old and 62.92% illuminated. Details of how Jim acquired his image are on the photo. This is a single shot image and then processed in Snapseed.
Other Images
Sun | Comets | Mercury | Venus | Atmospheric Optics | Meteors | Auroa and NLC | Moon | Minor Planets | Mars | Jupiter | Saturn | Uranus | Neptune | Messier | Caldwell | All Deep Sky | Conjunctions | Transits | Solar Eclipse | Lunar Eclipse | Wide Field |ISS & Space Junk | Exo-Planets
All images are copyright. Permission must be sought to from the image owner to the use of any of these images.