Some Shadowy Lunar Close-Ups

[Dave882]

We've been completely starved of clear sky here on the east coast but last week (3rd April) a night of thin high cloud was good enough to tempt me into a lunar session. I was pleasantly surprised that conditions were quite stable, and I was able to view quite comfortably with the binoviewers at 300-400x and really enjoyed closeup views of a number of different features, and was fascinated by all the long shadows across the craters.

I wasn't sure how things would go imaging, but since the cloud was a fairly consistent thin blanket I thought I'd give it a go and took a number of videos before putting the binos back on. Given the conditions I opted for the IR850 filter and an asi178mm.

Some captures better than others, but pleasantly surprised by the level of detail even under cloud. Still feel I could do a better job processing but time is short these days so happy to receive any comments/suggestions/critique to help for next time.

c14 non edge @f11
Bintel crayford focusser
asi178mm
zwo ADC
ASICAP / AS!3 / Regi6

Cheers

[Dennis]

Some nice detail in these, nicely processed too.:)

That IR850 filter must have really increased your exposure time, or did you pump up the gain?

Cheers

Dennis

[PhilTas]

Great images Dave, given the observing conditions.

I recall reading in one of my older planetary astronomy books, that a thin layer of cloud can be advantageous to observations of Jupiter - the cloud contributes to the steadiness without affecting seeing to much.

Cheers Phil

[Crater101]

That's some nice work there.

I feel your pain about the clear skies... :rolleyes:

[Dave882]

Thanks folks yep it’s been tough lately but honestly it was a really enjoyable night even with the cloud. And yes, I’ve noticed before that sometimes high cloud is accompanied by really good seeing - and especially for a visual session on bright targets it really doesn’t hurt. Regarding Jupiter & Saturn I’ve found it can really help increase contrast for some reason, probably due to reduced bright reflections in the scope perhaps?

Dennis- the IR850 certainly increases exposure times but it’s still manageable. I was at gains of 300-400 and exposures 5-10ms depending on surface brightness of the area I was imaging. Most captures were approx 3-5min and I took 20% of the best in the stack.

[Dennis]

Thanks for that David, I appreciate your reply.:)

Cheers

Dennis

[Startrek]

Dave,
Some lovely lunar vistas from your big scope
Nicely processed too
You can’t process your way out of poor data in planetary imaging , the data has to be reasonably good in the first place no matter how much video you capture
Always enjoy looking at good quality high res lunar terrain images like yours
Well done !!
Martin

[Saturnine]

It is always great to see some lesser imaged areas of luna, as well as some well known craters etc. Glad you had some steady seeing despite the thin cloud, as you say the two often go hand in hand and not such a problem for bright targets.
Will have to give my IR685 filter some more moonlight to contend with and see how much difference it makes to seeing .

Thanks for sharing .

[Averton]

You did really well David. Great pictures and crater details, your processing looks good. We are starved of any viewing or imaging at the moment (abysmal weather) so really enjoyed seeing your images :)

[Dave882]

Thanks Jeff, Martin, Clare&Peter I appreciate your kind words. :)

[Ultra.Astro]

Awesome detail!
Would this work with an RGB camera? I see alot of moon imaging done with mono cams, thinking of my next camera suited to planetary/moon.
Also would love to hear if the ADC has a big impact on the imaging.

[Dave882]

Cheers Robert- yep colour cameras work fine and I actually prefer the colour output for a more realistic view but IR on a mono cam is great for high res long fl imaging to help with a more stable image in nights of poorer conditions and the colour isn’t that huge a loss for lunar imaging. I honestly don’t think an adc helps that much on the moon but tbh I have a little planetary imaging setup that I can just fit in place and start shooting and to take it all apart is just too much bother so I left it in place.