The Moon

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

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Pink Moon – 16th April 2022

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

The Moon by Neil Webster

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

Crescent Moon by Jim Burchell

Two beautiful photos by Jim Burchell of a crescent Moon both taken with an Olympus E-M10 Mark on the evening of 02/02/22.

The first photo is of the crescent Moon and Jupiter. 40mm F4.0 1/40 sec Iso 800.

The second photo is of the crescent Moon and a wind turbine. 150mm F5.6 1/13 sec Iso 800.

Diane Clarke’s The Moon & M45 The Pleiades on the 8th March 2022

A lovely image of the Moon 4.1° south of M45 taken on the 8th March 2022 by Diane Clarke.

Diane said ”I had my doubts about capturing this event due to the cloud forecast, but there were breaks starting to appear as 19.00 hrs approached, so I went to set up but there was a strong breeze forcing me to find a sheltered spot to stop my equipment suffering wind blast, the breeze was also making the clouds scud across the sky very quickly. So much so that any breaks in the cloud could disappear as quickly as they appeared the image was taken in one of these short lived break’s in the cloud cover.”

Image Details: Camera EOS M50m2 using a 100mm Canon EF Lens.

2.5 sec’s @ f5.6, ISO 2000, on a static tripod, with a 2 sec delay to remove camera shake.

Neil Webster’s Moon 7th March 2022

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

22 day old Moon by Simon Dawes

Latest super image by Simon Dawes of a 22 day old Moon taken on the 23rd Feb 2022 in Bexleyheath.

Lunar Images by Leigh Slomer

Lunar Halo/Corona Competition

Lunar Halo Competition

As the name suggests, take an image of a Lunar Halo.

Rules:

Whilst the points awarding is somewhat ambiguous I’ll be looking for the following…

Technically a good image (in focus)
Well composed
Other points of interest (foreground or background)
A good story – if you have a story of how you took the image it can’t hurt!

Entry criteria:

You can only enter if you are a paid up member (any tier of membership)
Entries must be to webmaster@crayfordmanorastro.com – feel free to post them on what’s app as well!

Entries:

Images By Diane Clarke

Lunar Corona DC — Image By Diane Clarke. The two stars to the left of the Moon are Castor & Pollux in the constellation of Gemini Image details, Taken on 30.12.20 @ 21.48 Camera EOS 750D, Lens Sigma 18 -250 @18mm 1/2 Sec @ f3.5, Image as taken Static Tripod

MG_2585c — Image by Diane Clarke This image shows the Moon and a 22° lunar halo, along with the stars of Gemini Aruga, Taurus & Orion Image details, Canon EOS 750D, Sigma 18 – 250mm lens @ 18mm 8 sec @ f5.6, ISO 800, 25.01.21 @ 20.48 hrs Static Tripod Image as shot

Images by Leigh Slomer

Leigh Slomer Lunar Corona — Image by Leigh Slomer Taken with a stock Canon EOS 200d and a Samyang 135mm lens. Exposure time was 1/5 of a second at ISO 400 at an f ratio of 2.8. Processed in GIMP.

Images by Jim Burchell

20210125_214700 — Image by Jim Burchel image taken on the Evening of 25/01/21. Image taken with a pentax K70. ISO 800/ F8 and 30 second exposure. Image showing some part of Orion Taurus and the Pleiades..

Lunar Images by John Howarth

Richard Bohner’s Lunar Images

RBcrescent moon — Image by Richard Bohner. Photo info: taken on 13 April 2021 @ 7:52PM local time, Arizona. Canon 5D MK IV, ISO 800, 3sec. Exp. telephoto f5.6 400mm.

Lunar Images By Janice McClean

Occultation of the Beehive by the Moon

On Saturday 13th April I’d hoped to go to the Observatory and image the occultation of the Beehive cluster by the Moon but alas Diane and I had forgotten that we were taking part in a local RSPB quiz. We’ve taken part on a number of other occasions with fellow member Deborah and David, her husband, who are also keen bird watchers, so we had said yes to this quiz before we knew about the events clashing.

The skies were still clear after the quiz so we headed to the observatory, we got to the Pavilion at about 22:30BST (21:30UT) to find that no one else was using it. We imaged the Moon with the Beehive cluster from the patio then imaged some lunar craters and took a tour around the sky with the 16″. The skies remained clear until 02:10BST at which time Diane and I packed up and went home.