I guess I have to start somewhere

[erick (Eric)]

Less than 2 day old Moon at Snake Valley.

Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000, prime focus in 8" reflector on undriven dobsonian mount.

330 frames stacked in Registax, rotated and cropped.

I got a lot to learn!!

Main crater (with central peaks) is Petavius. Vendelinus and Furnerius also in image. Also, crater Holden is seen!

[Zuts]

Good going eric, welcome to heartbreak club

I reckon the first thing to learn is how to focus, so you could try FocusAssist, it's free and works for me.

Paul

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Looking good Eric. You are off to a flying start

[iceman (Mike)]

Yay another dobber with a webcam Great start Eric!

[acropolite (Phil)]

A fine start Eric, didn't seem that long ago you were dipping your toes in the pond with binoculars.

[erick (Eric)]

Thanks guys, I'll need all the encouragement I can get. This is a lot harder than I thought! But, I'm willing to persist and see what I can get out of my basic equipment.


ps. now, where is crater Ford?

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

You dip a toe in Eric, next thing you know you've slipped in over your head.
Welcome to the club.

[mill (Martin)]

Nice pic Eric.
Ahh i remember the days with the cam in the dob
Hmm wasn't even very long ago

[mill (Martin)]

Oops! Almost forgot.
Sometimes it is better to find the one pic in the avi, that is the sharpest and the best, instead of stacking.

[erick (Eric)]

Originally Posted by mill

Oops! Almost forgot.
Sometimes it is better to find the one pic in the avi, that is the sharpest and the best, instead of stacking.

OK thanks, I'll have a look. On reflection, I did so many things wrong..... but it was fun getting started.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Eric, next months club night is 'Afocal Digital Camera Astrophotography', and using a webcam in a Telescope

Hope you can make it.

[erick (Eric)]

Yea!!! Which night, everyone has been asking me and I suggested Friday Dec 7th??

[erick (Eric)]

I'll just duck into the camera store and ask for an "Afocal Digital Camera"??

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Originally Posted by erick

I'll just duck into the camera store and ask for an "Afocal Digital Camera"??

Next club night is December 7th.

Then in 2008:
Jan 11
Feb 8
March - Camp
April 4
May 9
June 6
July 4
Aug 1
Sept 5
Oct 3
November - Camp
Dec 5

[Kal (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by erick

Also, crater Holden is seen!

Is that crater Holden just behind crater Ford?!

[erick (Eric)]

Actually, I think crater Ford is way ahead and is around the other side of the Moon by now!

Jokes aside, I must find out why it is named "Holden".

If I have my lunar geography right, I've marked the crater named Holden on the attached image.

ps. Named for Edward Singleton Holden (November 5, 1846 – March 16, 1914) - an American astronomer. And also a Holden crater on Mars.

[erick (Eric)]

By popular request (well, by Rob_K request ), here is another video clip, processed by Ken (Ballaratdragons) with me making encouraging sounds as I watched.

Around 207 frames stacked in Registax, and processing with Photoshop Elements.

(For comparison - the one I stacked and processed earlier. Clearly, Ken knows what he is doing!)

[Garyh]

Lots to learn but isn`t it fun! Eric!
Glad you have Ken to help you out!
Now when the moon is up you can still play

[Rob_K]

Phew Erick, thanks, almost missed it! Nice one! Processing really made the difference. But hang onto all your AVIs, coz I want the mosaic next!

Cheers -

[goober (Doug)]

Originally Posted by erick

ps. Named for Edward Singleton Holden (November 5, 1846 – March 16, 1914) - an American astronomer. And also a Holden crater on Mars.

Yep, director of the Lick Observatory. Never heard of a Ford crater on the moon, but there's probably one up there somewhere