The Moon

This fantastic image of the Moon was taken by Jim Burchell back in September 2021.  Jim used his Samsung A10 mobile phone attached to one of the society Dobsonian Telescopes called Isaac at F1.9, 1/50 sec and ISO50.

These two superb images of the Moon were captured by member Neil Webster on the 5th & 7th May 2022. 

Neil acquired the images using and Altair Astro 115mm triplet APO, EQ6 R mount, ZWO ASI290MM camera plus Astronomik R/IR filter.

Each image consists of 3 frames stitched: each 90s x 33fps….20% selected, aligned, stacked in AutoStakkert3 and processed in PS.

The Moon – 5th May 2022 – Waxing Crescent 19% and 4.23 days old.

The Moon – Moon 7th May – Waxing Crescent 36% and 6.02 days old.

A lovely image of the Moon taken by Simon Dawes on the 8th May 2022 from Bexleyheath, Kent.

Details of how Simon acquired the image are on the photo.

Congratulations to member Diane Clarke for one of her images being selected for ‘Picture of the Week’ by the BAA (British Astronomical Association). 

The image that was chosen is called ‘Eclipsed Moon Rising’ and is a composite of 14 images taken between 8.17 – 8.26pm of the full Moon as it was rising above a distant horizon – see below.  There was a band of cloud that drifted across as Diane waited and as the Moon started to rise the cloud bank obscured parts of the moon as it climbed into the sky.  

Absolutely stunning………

Click the following link to be taken to the BAA Picture of the Week page of their website where you will find more detail about Diane’s image. https://britastro.org/observations/observation.php?id=20220415_141246_3339ce105b39a7a8

On the night before Easter, the sky will look a little more “pink” due to the full Moon.

This is because the 1st full moon of the spring season is known as the Pink Moon and the name derives from a pink flower called phlox subulata that blooms in spring in North America.

While the moon itself won’t actually be pink, you might notice a slight change in its colour, depending on what time you viewed it on the 16th April 2022.

Members Jim Burchell, Diane Clarke and John Howarth all captured the full Moon last night on the 16th April 2022 as it rose, which appeared as a glorious ‘pink’ colour due to taking the photos whilst the Sun was still setting.

All photos were taken from locations in North Kent.

Below is the Pink Moon rising by Jim Burchell

Photo below is by Diane Clarke

Photo below is by John Howarth

For more information about the Pink Moon, click on the link and you will be taken to a new site https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/moon/pink.html

Neil has been busy and produced these two beautiful images of the Moon.

The image below was taken on the 8th April 2022 from Kent.

The image below was taken on the 13th April 2022 from Kent.

For a more detailed view of these images and more photos of the Moon see Neil’s flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05

A spectacular image of the Moon by Neil Webster; taken on the 7th March 2022.

Waxing Crescent Moon, 23%, 4.72 days

4 frames stitched (each 44fps x 75, 20% stacked in AutoStakkert) and then processed in PS.

Below is 1 image taken from the above stitch of 4.

For a more detailed view of these images see Neil’s flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/137388222@N05