MoonPics

[Happy Guy]

Well I have had my first concentrated attempt at photos of the moon ( and I was wrong, it wasn't cloudy tonight!) So here are 3 of the best shots I got (perhaps best described as 3 of the least worse) I'm not at all happy with them, I cant seem to get the 'sharpness' and 'detail' that MPH and Astroman seem to get all the time. Any help or suggestions would be VERY much appreciated!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2651/4231581259_0054abbbb9_b.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4012/4231556203_d78d7a15c4_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2679/4231565587_22887286b7_b.jpg

I have done them large size so that all the errors can be seen!!

[dragonfly]

they are WAY better than mine Happy Guy! but granted tonight was my first attempt at night time photography but couldn't not try to get that moon.

what lens/settings were you using to get your photos??

here are my pathetic attempts but glad to see that I got a blue moon in one of them :D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4231453157_a16459dc8a_m.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4232220752_e36a607c4f_m.jpg

[Happy Guy]

they are WAY better than mine Happy Guy! but granted tonight was my first attempt at night time photography but couldn't not try to get that moon.

what lens/settings were you using to get your photos??

here are my pathetic attempts but glad to see that I got a blue moon in one of them :D

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4231453157_a16459dc8a_m.jpg http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2708/4232220752_e36a607c4f_m.jpg
I was using a 4 inch reflector telescope, a Canon on manual setting at around 125th second at iso 400

[astroman]

Good shots Dragonfly. I was out yesterday evening so had to settle for snapping the eclipse with my trusty old compact camera - the end result is very similar to yours...
http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj138/astroman_caithness/31Dec09PartialLunarEclipsesmall.jpg

Happy Guy, here's my initial advice. I hope it's of use.
Your telescopic pics of the moon don't look too far off as it's possible to pick out the details on the lunar surface.
You don't say which Canon model you have and whether you're taking the photo at prime focus (camera attached instead of the eyepiece) or afocally (camera positioned at eyepiece where your eye would normally be). I could be wrong, but it looks like a focussing issue to me. I have "Live View" on my DSLR with helps immensely with the focussing when photographing the Moon. I also tend to find it easier to focus when the Moon is not full, as the craters etc along the terminator (daylight/shadow boundary) stand out clearer allowing you to see when the focussing is right.
Initially I had many more "failures" than successes when photographing the Moon through my scope, but once you get to know what works for your setup it will seem surprisingly easy, so don't give up - have another go.

[Happy Guy]

I was using prime focus with Canon 450D but through a Hyperion Zoom Barlow. I think your suggestion of using Live View would be helpfull - Ill try that next time - thanks

[Mystical Potato Head]

It does look like a focus issue to me as well but as Astroman points out focussing on a full moon is a lot easier said than done.I usually take a few images at what i think is good focus and then take a few more just tweaking the focus either side of what i think is good.
Very good attempts from you and Dragonfly(nice blue moon too),try again when the next crescant through to half moon comes along,much easier to pick out detail and you get better contrast because its not so bright.

Plenty of time to practice for the next full lunar eclipse which is 21st Dec 2010 at about 8 a.m and iirc weather permitting we should see the start of totality just before sunrise.
The moon will be low in a north westerly direction and should if i understand correctly dissapear below the horizon whilst still eclipsed so a good viewpoint would be the top of Scrabster brae or somewhere that has the sea as your NW horizon.
Even though it wont be in full darkness the moon should still take on an orange glow but just how dark i'm not sure......Any ideas Astroman?

I've just ran my Starry night software forward to said date and the skies look reasonably dark at the time of totallity and certainly will be dark enough as the eclipse starts.The times in the link are Universal Time which luckilly for us is the same as GMT.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_December_2010_lunar_eclipse

[dragonfly]

given me food for thought there, I'm sure we have a telescope up in the loft from when the bairn was interested in it.............as you say MPH, plenty of time to practice

[Happy Guy]

Thanks very much MPH. I will try that, together with Astroman's suggestion of Live View. All I need now is for Tugmistress to organise the weather so there are no darn clouds!

[Tugmistress]

haha you may well be lucky tonight ;)

love your first attempts HG :D

[Mystical Potato Head]

Thanks very much MPH. I will try that, together with Astroman's suggestion of Live View. All I need now is for Tugmistress to organise the weather so there are no darn clouds!

Another thing which may help is,dont go overboard with the magnification.The recommended maximum is 50x for every inch of scope diameter and thats in ideal conditions.So for your 4 inch scope 200x is your limit.Try somewhere in the region of 100-150x and i'm sure you will see sharper images.

[astroman]

Plenty of time to practice for the next full lunar eclipse which is 21st Dec 2010 at about 8 a.m and iirc weather permitting we should see the start of totality just before sunrise.
The moon will be low in a north westerly direction and should if i understand correctly dissapear below the horizon whilst still eclipsed so a good viewpoint would be the top of Scrabster brae or somewhere that has the sea as your NW horizon.
Even though it wont be in full darkness the moon should still take on an orange glow but just how dark i'm not sure......Any ideas Astroman?



The next 3 lunar eclipses visible in the UK all happen around moonrise/moonset, so are not ideal for observing, but if the sky is clear for the one Dec 2010 it should be a lovely orange/red colour, being so low in the sky.
We'll definitely need a bit of luck with the weather, and a clear NW horizon though as the Moon will only be 15deg above the horizon at the start of the eclipse and 5deg up at full eclipse. Tugmistress, any chance you could put in a request for some clear skies 12 months in advance ;)

[donsinc]

Here is a shot taken through the bare branches of a Maple tree of the rising Blue Moon on New Year's Eve here in Alberta, Canada.

http://gallery.me.com/plmnice/100073/DSCN4213/web.jpg?ver=12627001530001

[Kenn]

Now that is different.

[Happy Guy]

VERY clever! and bet you have got a LOT more snow than we have!

[donsinc]

VERY clever! and bet you have got a LOT more snow than we have!

Unless you have more than shown in this shot of my rear workshop this morning, yes. ;)

http://gallery.me.com/plmnice/100073/DSCN1241/web.jpg?ver=12627972980001

[Happy Guy]

Ha ha! I lived in Northern Ontario for many years and I know what the snow can be like in your part of the world, that shot brings back memories!