1st Quarter Moon – 28 June 2009

Tonight I got my first shot of the moon with the D50 and the C8. This was about an hour before sunset. Aiden was my big helper while I assembled the telescope. Then he stood on the stool and looked through the eyepiece at the moon.

The number of craters visible in the high-resolution image is really amazing. Central peak uplifts are visible in many of the larger craters. However, the focus was not tight enough in general to pick up the terrace edges (although you can make out traces here and there). You can click on the image below to see the full-sized photograph, but be prepared to wait! The big photo is 2.3MB at a whopping 2900×2900.

You can see some severe vignette in the corners from the 1.25″ universal T-adapter. The photo is actually a composite of two separate shots because the moon did not fit in the camera’s image sensor at this high magnification.

Telescope: Celestron C8, FL 2032mm, f/10
Camera: Nikon D50, ISO 800, 1/1000s

1st quarter moon in daylight

Crescent moon in sharper focus – 27 June 2009

Another warm night. Tonight I tried using ISO 800 and got this picture at 1/320s. The focus is a lot sharper tonight than I had last night. I really need to make a Hartman mask for the 70mm Meade refractor.

thick crescent moon

Waxing Crescent Moon – 2009 June 26

Update: clicking the photo should work now!

It was hot outside tonight, even for Houston in the summer. It was still 93ºF after sunset! I got this shot with the Meade refractor using ISO 200 at 1/100s. There’s just a touch of blur from me supporting one end by hand. I was tired and didn’t want to mess with pulling out the GEM tonight in the heat. Click the image to see full resolution photo.

waxing crescent moon

Recent Moon Shots – 21 June, 2009

I took this late at night between our house and the neighbor’s. There were scattered light clouds and I don’t think the sky was ever completely clear. Technical details: Nikon D50, Tamron lens @ 300mm, f/6, ISO 200, 1/200s. Click photo to enlarge.

June 7th Full Moon

A few days later I woke up at 5:30 with the realization that the gibbous moon would be high in the sky. I know, I know, too much time thinking about lunar orbital characteristics and not enough time thinking about… hmm… what else is there again? Anyway, you can hardly blame me: the adapter for mounting the camera to the scope had just arrived the day before. (Technically, there’s a T-Ring for the Nikon D50 mated to a universal 1.25″ T-adapter.)

Oooh. Nice craters. The photo was taken just before sunrise. Other tech stuff: 70mm Meade refractor w/ 600mm FL, f/8.57, ISO 200, 1/200s.Click photo to enlarge.

June 10th Gibbous Moon

I took this last one a couple mornings later just after sunrise. This one is framed in the blurred branches of a tree. You can just make out some craters along the terminator. Tech stuff: Tamron @ 300mm, f/6, ISO 400, 1/1600s. Click photo to enlarge.

June 12th Morning Gibbous Moon

Saturn Rings Edge On – 2 April 2009

location: Tomball, TX
time: 730pm-900pm
cloud cover: 0%
transparency: 100%
seeing: average (3/5)
darkness: city sky glow, 1st quarter moon
wind: 5-10mph

lunar terminator crossed montes apenninus, mountain peaks were outstanding. high contrast thin fissures in SE mare vaporum: rima hyginus and rima ariadaeus. long parallel hills near rima hyginus seem un-crater-like, perhaps formed by tectonic activity?

rings of Saturn appeared as a line segment through the planet’s disc. Rhea and Dione out to the left of the rings. Tethys beyond the right edge of the rings, sometimes swallowed by bad seeing. Titan bright about 4x ring diameters from Saturn, Iapetus approx, 4x farther than Titan and surprisingly off the “line” of Saturn’s rings, probably due to orbital inclination.