Category Archives: Moon

Lunar Eclipse, May 15-16, 2022

Lunar Eclipse – Totality. 1×4 sec, Astro-Tech AT60ED, QHY183c, UV/IR filter.
Lunar Eclipse – Near End of Totality. Stacked image – 5×4 sec, Astro-Tech AT60ED, QHY183c, UV/IR filter.
Lunar Eclipse – Totality. 1×8 sec, Astro-Tech AT60ED, QHY183c, UV/IR filter.
May 15, 2022 Lunar Eclipse. Before totality. 2 sec @ Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c, UV/IR filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.

Clear to partly cloudy skies and a little humid, but good enough to get shots of most of the eclipse.   The four images above were some of the better captures.

The Lunar Eclipse of Nov 19, 2021

The Lunar Eclipse, Nov 19, 2021. 2 sec, QHY183c, Gain 18, Offset 50, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60D.
The Lunar Eclipse, Nov 19, 2021. 2 sec, QHY183c, Gain 18, Offset 50, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60D.

The lunar eclipse of Nov 19, 2019 was pretty good, considering it was only partial.   I started imaging at 1:00 and didn’t stop until dawn.    The two best images are above.  The sequence below is exactly how they came out live in the field, so to speak.


BONUS:

Two comets, C/2021 A1 and 67P,  just a quick look to see their progress from the last time.  67P appears to have faded a little and C/2021 A1 has gotten brighter.

Imaging Session on Nov 13/14, 2021

The Moon on Nov 13, 2021. QHY183c, AT60ED at F/4.8.
The Pleiades. 35×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
The Andromeda Galaxy. 50×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Star Streaks Version. 40×180 sec (comet, 20×180 sec background), Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
Comet 67P Churyumov-Gerasimenko, Star Freeze Version. 40×180 sec (comet, 20×180 sec background), Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
C/2021-A1 (Leonard). 24×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
C/2021-A1 (Leonard). 24×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY183c at -20C, UHC-S filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8. Star Freeze version.

Great weather and very transparent skies for this session.  I started out with the goal of getting two comets, but since they didn’t get into position until later, I started off with the Moon, then M45 and M31.  I also shot Pickering’s Triangle, part of the Veil Nebula complex, but didn’t get enough subs to do it any justice.

The comets were small, but interesting with long tails instead of being just puff balls.    67P has a really long tail in images taken by others.  I was glad to get as much as I got shooting from the middle of town with all the LP.

November 7, 2021 Imaging Session

Earthshine from the Moon on Nov 7, 2021. An overexposed thin crescent and Earthshine from a 2 to 3-days old moon. 2 sec at Gain 42, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8, QHY183c at -15C, Optolong L-eNhance filter.
Witch’s Broom – 20 x 180 sec at Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY-183C at -15C, Optolong L-eNhance filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.
California Nebula – 51 x 180 sec at Gain 11, Offset 50, QHY-183C at -15C, Optolong L-eNhance filter, Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8.

From last night, Sunday, Nov 7, 2021 local time.

I stayed out till almost 1:00 AM shooting this image of the California Nebula. It is 2.55 hours of 3 minute sub-images (51×180 sec) calibrated and stacked in SharpCap 3.2 LiveStacking. Taken with a QHY183c camera at -15C cooling, an Astro-Tech AT60ED at F/4.8 and an Optolong L-eNhance filter. Metro area location under heavy light pollution, but clear and transparent skies.

At the beginning of the session, the moon was beautiful next to Venus, but I could not fit them in the same field of view. So, I decided to catch the Earthshine before it got too low.

The Witch’s Broom was taken to kill time while waiting for the California Nebula to get into position.

The Moon and M13

The Moon on Jun 17, 2021.
M13 Globular Cluster. 20×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 10, QHY183c at -10C, L-eNhance filter, AT60ED at F/4.8. Full field.
M13 Globular Cluster. 20×180 sec, Gain 11, Offset 10, QHY183c at -10C, L-eNhance filter, AT60ED at F/4.8.  Close-crop.

A quick outing before the weather got bad as a tropical storm hits from the Gulf.   I wanted to test the new T-adapter fittings I got for the AT60ED to attach the camera instead of using the 1.25″ eyepiece adapter, like I had to do for the first light images.

Oct 2nd, 2020 – Mars and Moon Conjunction

Moonrise!
The Moon and Mars on Oct 2, 2020. TV-85 at F/5.6, QHY183c at -15C, L-eNhance Filter.

A beautiful evening for the Moon and Mars conjunction on October 2, 2020.  Condition were so good that I was able to capture the moon rising behind a tree.   Usually the muck is so thick at that altitude that I would not be able to get a good image, but this night it was extremely transparent.

The moonrise shot was a single frame.  I had to do a composite for the still image of the Moon and Mars together.   10 frames were stacked in AutoStakkert of just the moon and 2 Mars frames were combined for the disk of Mars.

The MP4 video file is the first time I have tried including one in a astrophoto post.  It is small enough in size to download in a reasonable amount of time.  Video editing software I used was rudimentary and I really couldn’t get the background color corrected very well.   I’ll have to find something that can do that job for future projects like this.