Biggest Full Moon

[Bernoulli]

So we have the biggest full moon of the year Friday night. How about we have a full moon picture thread? Post your best full moon pictures here. Anybody up for this?

[Celestron]

So we have the biggest full moon of the year Friday night. How about we have a full moon picture thread? Post your best full moon pictures here. Anybody up for this?

Sorry , I just posted my own thread with my new moon shot . Wheni submitted it then i saw you also posted this at the same time . Sorry :( .

[Bernoulli]

Well Celestron, I have to admit I cheated and took my picture tonight too. I don't know about how things are in Midland, but the seeing is great up here so I couldn't resist. Here's mine. The moon is so big it's the first time I had to stitch together three images.

[FlyingPhotog]

I'll be a while but I'll post up when I get back... ;) (I know it's OT but I just had to...)
http://www.pbase.com/flyingphotog/image/106893673/original.jpg

[Celestron]

Well Celestron, I have to admit I cheated and took my picture tonight too. I don't know about how things are in Midland, but the seeing is great up here so I couldn't resist. Here's mine. The moon is so big it's the first time I had to stitch together three images.

WOW :shock: , great shot ! What setup did you use ? I'll check tomorrow , i'm off to bed :( .

[Bernoulli]

Here's Tycho making a splash.

FlyingPhotog - I've twice in my many years had an airliner fly though my field of view while I was looking at the moon through a telescope. Scared the hell out of me both times! That's a great shot, you must have watched that one lining up with camera at the ready.

[FlyingPhotog]

Here's Tycho making a splash.

FlyingPhotog - I've twice in my many years had an airliner fly though my field of view while I was looking at the moon through a telescope. Scared the hell out of me both times! That's a great shot, you must have watched that one lining up with camera at the ready.

Fortunately, this one gave me plenty of time and I could see him coming! I would think that a commercial jet going through your FOV would be a case of "Did I just see that?" :)

Great, great imagery on your part btw.

I had a go at pulling some color out of the moon the other day and I have to say I was amazed! There really is color to be had!

[ejicon]

Wow. Amazing shots up above. I have yet to shoot the moon with my 30D but I did shoot a full moon with my Nikon. I'll try snapping some shot tonight.

[Sorarse]

Here's mine. Unfortunately I haven't worked out how to stitch images together with invisible joins, so need to work on that. Also need to make sure that I take pictures that cover the entire area I need. Oops. No points for spotting the truncated edge on one side, and the missing portion at top left.

http://www.88qv.com/net/164.jpg

[Bernoulli]

Sorarse - I tried and tried and never could manually stitch together shots without visible seams. Then I found Photoshop's Photomerge. It's under File/Automate/Photomerge. It's completely automatic and works like a charm. You can't even find the seams if you know where they are. I wish the guy that did my kitchen countertops had used it.

[Celestron]

Thats a great shot and job well done Sorarse ! I don't see any seems to speak of . BTW my image i posted in another thread is posted at www.spaceweather.com today on the front page :D !

[luigis]

No telescope here but I have a Bigma + 1.4TC ready for my 1.6 crop camera, that will give me a FOV of 500 * 1.4 * 1.6 = 1120mm
Tripod, MLU, cable release and crossing fingers for a clear night.

[Sorarse]

Thanks for that Bernoulli, I'll look into that.

[Adrena1in]

Completely cloudy and raining at the moment...I was hoping to take a shot and then compare it in size to others I've taken...can't believe it's meant to be 14% bigger than "normal" tonight...effectively the biggest it's appeared in fifty years or something!

[Sky of the Plains]

man these are some great shots!

we need a saturn occultation! you guys would get some amazing shots!

[dliveleyphotography]

Taken with 70-200 2.8L on 40D on tripod with remote release with mirror locked up, little over 100% crop:

http://i305.photobucket.com/albums/nn207/muddytaco3/6cccf729.jpg

[ejicon]

Here's Tycho making a splash.

FlyingPhotog - I've twice in my many years had an airliner fly though my field of view while I was looking at the moon through a telescope. Scared the hell out of me both times! That's a great shot, you must have watched that one lining up with camera at the ready.

I get goose'bumps just looking at your second shot :lol:

[Bernoulli]

We're getting some great shots in here. Looks like clear skies in Arkansas tonight so maybe I'll brave the cold for a few more frames. It'll be the last shots for my 40d for awhile because it's heading for the camera hospital tomorrow to fix a bad shutter button.

Here's another from last night. Want to try some moon trivia? Can you find in this picture where an asteroid hit the surface, skipped back up off the ground, and slammed into the surface again?

[Darsk47]

man these are some great shots!

Ditto - these are fantastic.!!!

[monty28428]

Awesome shots!!

Well best I can do...Moon rise 15 minutes after sunset.

[Bernoulli]

Best you can do? Jeez, that's beautiful! I don't think you COULD do much better than that.

[monty28428]

:oops: -- Thanks Bernoulli!! It doesn't compare to the wonderful closeups in this thread!

[emtp563]

Here's my feeble attempt. 40D/70-200L + 1.4x TC II/tripod/cable release/manual focus with Live View @ 10X:

http://velocycle.smugmug.com/photos/435382129_EB8c8-XL.jpg

[FlyingPhotog]

:( :( :(

Figures that we've got one of our 10 cloudy days in AZ right now...

:( :( :(

[advaitin]

Canon 1Ds Mark III, 600mm L IS, 2x extender, Gitzo Tripod, Cable release, 100 ISO, 1/60s @ f16, PP CS3. Cropped 50 percent.

[Maureen Souza]

These are all fantastic...keep posting!!

We live in the midst of Tule fog so getting moon shots is almost impossible.However, the fog is gone tonight! It has been replaced by rain.

[Michael_Lambert]

Here is my attempt.. We currently are getting snow so it was kind of a pain... but i think it turned out okay. 100%crop.

http://www.michaellambertphotography.com/dec12moon.jpg

[Oneslowz28]

heres my sad and shivering from the cold attempt.
http://cjganttphotography.com/images/full_moon-at-perigee.jpg

[iceman1]

My attempt with the 55-250@250 with IS, hand held, and cropped (alot). :)

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f183/j0rdan1/Fall08/IMG_5271.jpg

[Bernoulli]

Great pictures all! Still not over the trees here but I'm getting ready.

[dispatchermike21]

Snowing here no moon.........

[rjg5]

My first try. 40d w/ 70-200 + 1.4 handheld. Is a little hazy here.

Shot raw - some sharpening and mild contrast.

[doug waters]

WOW!!! great fotos everybody!!!

40d 1/1000 f8.0 iso 160 canon eos 600mm f4 + 2x tc uncropped, unsharp mask from raw with a little fiddleing with shadows, highlights and contrast ...

[Bernoulli]

Hot off the press. The local TV weatherman wanted one to show tonight so I made this contrasty version for him.

[Ultimate CC]

http://www.danhonovich.com/img/v4/p395176639-5.jpg

heres mine out of my 1d mkIII + 70-200 2.8 IS + 1.4x...about a 100% crop...

[Carlos05]

40d with 70-200 f/4 IS handheld ISO 100 f/4 1250 and 100% cropped with some pp

Not as good as some of the others but I didn't have my tripod with me...


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e77/Carlos1583/Backyard%20pics/Moon12-12-08.jpg

[ngannet]

It was mostly cloudy tonight. The brief time that there were no clouds, the Moon was SO bright, it was very difficult to expose properly. This was a shot I got when the Moon was lower and I really liked the effect. I like to try to get shots of other elements sometimes rather than just the Moon.
http://www.pbase.com/ngannet/image/106982548.jpg

[Bernoulli]

And the same one, processed for color this time.

[Oneslowz28]

Bernoulli you should post that one over on cloudynights.com that is by far one of the best images of the moon I have seen to date. I am sure there are many many people over there who will love it.

[monty28428]

Great photos one and all! Nice colour work Bernoulli!

ngannet I love the mood of that shot - Wonderful!

[FlyingPhotog]

And the same one, processed for color this time.

Ok, dumb question from the peanut gallery:

Is this how the Apollo Astronauts saw the lunar surface? Did they see the browns, tans and such?

[tagvestibule]

I can't touch Bernoulli's beautiful work, but I had fun standing in the cold shooting this (100-400mm with 1.4x extender, live view)

http://joshuasarner.smugmug.com/photos/435465373_v8A9D-XL.jpg

[hachi]

i'm enjoying seeing your shots of the moon. the clouds are rolling in here so no moon shot for me tonight.

[Jpatten]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3025/3104156362_537cd5bbd3.jpg

[Bernoulli]

I hereby proclaim this thread a success! We’ve had some great shots and I’m sure more to come and I enjoyed seeing everyone’s pictures.

Thanks for all the comments and compliments. It was probably 40 years ago since I first pointed Mom’s Instamatic into the eyepiece of my 60 mm Sears refractor and, a week later when the prints came back from the drugstore, saw those milky washed-out images of craters on the Moon. I was hooked. Every few years I pull out whatever equipment I’ve got and string it together for a couple of months of lunar imaging. It’s been great fun putting it on POTN.

Most of the magic is in the post processing and my starting images aren’t very exciting. I’ve attached a before and after of the image I posted earlier. On the left is the original just off the camera (actually three images stitched together) and the “final” product on the right. I ran an earlier thread on my processing techniques, mainly concentrating on my more colorful images:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=597780

Thanks for the tip on cloudynights.com, I’ll check them out.

FlyingPhotog – From orbit the Moon is incredibly dull to the naked eye, and virtually colorless. The Moon is actually quite dark, reflecting only about 12% of the light falling on it, close to the reflectance of old asphalt. It only looks white-ish in the sky because it’s brightly lit against a dark background. Through the telescope you can see the colors but they are very muted. But the colors are real and, when amplified, are very useful to the planetary geology crowd to figure out what minerals are where.

[jwcdds]

http://www.pbase.com/jwcdds/image/106987323.jpg

1/500s f/7.1 iso200 w/ the 55-250, 100% crop.

[perry314181]

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/3646/img6390bus4.jpg


Quite a difference compare to around a week ago. I measured 9% difference in size pixel wise. Both shots were taken with 70-200 4L IS handhelp. Mind-boggling stuff.

[C4Miles]

Took these a short while ago in south Texas. This is my first attempt at a moon shot. Used the 400mm f/5.6L at iso 100, f/8 and 1/200 sec.326298

326299

[pablito]

Here is my try from yesterday.

Canon 40D + 400mm f5.4L
1/125 f11 ISO 100

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3258/3103625997_62706fe62f_o.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/frenariedicobardi/3103625997/)

Ciao!

[Darsk47]

Again - WOW to all.

Bernoulli - yours are WOW plus. Please answer the moon trivia question you asked in post #18 of this thread.

Cheers.

[Sorarse]

Just a small question. The only time I can get some of the colour to come out is by shooting in RAW.

If I process my RAW images before stitching them, despite applying the same settings I am getting small colour differences in the images that make the stitching rather obvious.

Is it possible to stitch RAW images together before they are processed?

[Bernoulli]

Pablito - Great shot! I love the detail and tone.

Darsk57 - Answer attached. It's visible in most of these shots. It came in very low, only a few degrees from horizontal over the Sea of Fertility, skipped once, then buried itself in the ground, blasting out a long double plume of debris and leaving the craters we know as Messier A and B. I use it as a test to see if the atmosphere is clear enough for photography.

There is another low-angle impact just above the center of the frame, the bright crater Proclus (28 km). It came screaming in from the bottom of the frame and blasted out debris preferentially away from you in this view. The fan-shaped ejecta plume is clearly visible even in binoculars.

Sorarse - You should be able to find color no matter what format you use, but if you're not in RAW you'll have to push that saturation slider a lot further. Usually, you'll get better color results if you saturate a little, click OK to accept that saturation, then go right back and saturate a little more, click OK to accept, and keep repeating till you get enough. If you try to get all the color in one go with the saturation slider, you'll probably get patchy gaudy results. I usually try about 30 - 50 at a time in Photoshop and go two or three cycles.

You can stitich RAW together, and that's what I do. Of course it won't save as RAW, but you can save as 8 bit TIFF which isn't bad. You must stitch before you do any processing to avoid those seams which is kind of unfortunate since you then lose the ability to adjust in RAW. I wish you could stitch RAW and still get RAW.

My method: I was shooting through a 150 mm diameter telescope with a 1800 mm focal length (f/12 and 2900 mm for full-frame equivalent) for 1/50 sec. Focus with LiveView at 10X and leave the mirror locked up while you shoot. Use the 10 second timer and get off the deck during the countdown. The result is about 0.7 km/pixel on the moon which is a little less than 1/2 arc second so I'm sampling well under the limits of resolution for the atmosphere (about 1 - 2 arc seconds at best) and about the same as the scope (about 2/3 arc second).

I had to stitch together three frames to get the full disk. The shot below is the width of one frame, but I cropped some off the top to remove some sky in this image. Then, pour a scotch and post-process!

[bbulldog]

here is my shot of the moon from last night, well it was actually taken this morning at about 6:00
Setteings were ISO 100, f9, 1/80

http://www.pauldaniels.de/photography/potn/bigmoon.jpg

[ArcticShooter]

Took this tonight. Since I don't have the gear that you guys have. I had to dig out my 20 year old EF-100-300mm.
This shot was taken of course @300. f/5.6 and 1/640s
Tweaked the colors a little in ACR.
I know it can't compare to any of you guys that have done this for years. But it's my first moon shot ever :) So I think that I shall just stick to my northern lights...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/3105307286_02835bf27c.jpg

[jungle]

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff249/jungle375/DSC_1353.jpg



Very interesting to see the different orientation of the moon from various sites around the planet. This was taken in Alaska last night.

[hachi]

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3048/3104516120_4c450dcd97.jpg?v=1229207096

california skies finally cleared in the early morning. this is my first attempt of posting a picture on here... hopefully it comes out correctly.

canon 40D + 70-200 f/4 on tripod
1/320, f/8, iso100

[Kadath]

http://flickr.com/photos/kadath/3105090695/

Sam

[JuZ]

we need a saturn occultation! you guys would get some amazing shots!
There was a while ago, and I was there :D
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=323519

[jwcdds]

↑ I am not worthy. Talk about the perfect moment at the perfect time. Fantastic capture of the moon and Saturn!

[emtp563]

Here's my second attempt from tonight:

http://velocycle.smugmug.com/photos/436075233_HLpzL-X2.jpg

[ssracer]

My attempts, only had the camera a few days: Rebel XS 75-300mm 5.6L

Last Night
ISO 100, f/8, 1/400
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk133/ssracer77/Photography/IMG_0052-Copy.jpg

Tonight
ISO 100, f/8, 1/125, mirror lock up
http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk133/ssracer77/Photography/IMG_0182.jpg

So what are you guys doing to get such sharper detail? Just wondering if it is a camera or user limitation...lol

[Bernoulli]

Turned right-side up and processed to show crater rays.

ArcticShooter - I love your shot. The tone and soft focus go together perfectly.

ssracer- OK, I'm going to tell you the secret to getting sharp results. Here it is . . . sharpening! Coming out of the camera the results are going to look soft. Start with your lightest shot because you'll have less noise than starting with darker exposures. First use the levels controls to get the tonality right. Slide the left marker over almost completely to the start of the big peak that is the moon. The disk will darken up nicely. Now go to sharpen and set pixels to about 4 and drag the intensity pretty far over, to about 300% and you'll be amazed at what happens. Try different things with sharpening and you can get some great results. You'll know when you've done too much.

And, no, you're not cheating. All of these images that come back from our space probes are extensively post-processed for levels and sharpness at least. If you don't believe me, go to the Cassini website and look at the raw images in the state they are received from the spacecraft.

[ssracer]

After reading a little more, seems I need to try some RAW + post processing. Haven't tried any of that yet.

Here's one I took for fun with a longer exposure. There were some soft clouds moving through, gave it a neat look.

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk133/ssracer77/Photography/IMG_0174.jpg

[ssracer]

Went out and snapped a few more in RAW real quick. Never done any post processing on RAW images before, but after playing around with the software that was included with the camera I got to this:

http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk133/ssracer77/Photography/IMG_0183_pp.jpg

[Bernoulli]

ssracer - I was just about to post this when I saw your latest picture. I took the liberty of working on one of your shots for sharpness and here's what I came up with. You have some great images to start with. This is from the lighter of the two in your post at the top of the page. But it looks like you're almost there with your processing.

.

[ssracer]

Wow. Clearly I need to spend some time working on my post processing. I can't believe that came from my original image...lol

What software to you use for PP? I currently have the software that came bundles with the camera and Gimp.

[ArcticShooter]

ArcticShooter - I love your shot. The tone and soft focus go together perfectly.

Well I think that's is the first and only moon image I will post. At least with this lens. Maybe in 10 years time I might have a telescope...

[Bernoulli]

ssracer - I use Photoshop. This is the only thing I use PS for, all of my other shooting is done through Aperture but Aperture doesn't have the "curves" command, which is so very handy for processing lunar pictures.

ArcticShooter - I hope you don't wait 10 years!

[Jastangl]

I was hoping to get a good shot of the moon and found a place with a clear view of the SE sky over the river. When the moon showed up in the NE sky, I found the closest open area, but it was too high by that time. Switched to a wider lens and longer exposure:

[ArcticShooter]

ArcticShooter - I hope you don't wait 10 years!

I have to see. I was at my optican on Friday and he had a catalog from
Skywatcher. And some of those telescopes looked very sweet. But I guess the price is also nice :(
I am considering to join the local Astronomy club to learn more before buying anything.

[Bernoulli]

I've owned a lot of telescopes and can give you a general recommendation. For general observing of the moon and planets - not deep sky - here's what I use:

http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=cassegrains/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09968

The tube is described here:

http://www.telescope.com/control/product/~category_id=cassegrains/~pcategory=telescopes/~product_id=09967

If you check the customer reviews, you'll see mine.

The Maksutov gives you, IMHO, the best planetary images with the least need for adjustment and with the lightest weight. The entire setup costs less than a single L lens.

If you want to get into deep sky, then go with an 8 inch (at least) Schmidt-Cassegrain. Maksutovs get VERY heavy and expensive above about 6 inches. I'm not a deep sky observer or photographer, but there are some excellent practicioners in this forum.

In general, Orion Telescopes is the best company of its sort and I've spend a lot of money with them over the last 18 years. They are telescope.com, not telescopes.com. Their website is very helpful for beginners.

[ArcticShooter]

Thank, I will check it out

[dredwings3119]

Heres one I took .. http://www.flickr.com/photos/22711046@N05/3103380711/sizes/o/ ... sorry I don't know how to post images here :(..

regarding the pic.. I tried sharpening it in photoshop but it becomes all pixelated if I go to far :(.. its only my 2nd try of the moon and it was handheld.. maybe thats why its not so sharp?

[Pricey]

http://photos-d.ll.facebook.com/photos-ll-snc1/v1269/200/105/519430214/n519430214_5154675_5938.jpg

[Sorarse]

Well I've asked a few questions, implemented a few tips, and I've managed to improve the image I originally posted back on page 1 of this thread. I even managed to find another photo to fill in the gap that was in the original image.

http://www.88qv.com/net/165.jpg

[JamesXP]

here in the UK

http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/Cluney-/IMG_4242.jpg

postprocessed version: http://i71.photobucket.com/albums/i133/Cluney-/moonpp.jpg

Not sure about the PP'd though..

[beachbum2277]

My second attempt ever at the moon. How'd I do?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3214/3109131292_5c858b7909.jpg

[JeffreyVB]

Here is my feeble attempt. Shot in Va Beach, VA around 6:45am Saturday morning.

1/160sec, f/6.3, ISO 100. Canon 1D Mk II with 200mm f/2.8 w/1.4x TC.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v175/onenictoy/_V0I7103_CroppedandFixed_800.jpg

[punisherawr]

beautiful!!!

[bbulldog]

Well I've asked a few questions, implemented a few tips, and I've managed to improve the image I originally posted back on page 1 of this thread. I even managed to find another photo to fill in the gap that was in the original image.

http://www.88qv.com/net/165.jpg

nice what was the PP done on this?

[muscleflex]

hey there! how did you get color from the moon? care to share how you got this image? or did you use your lambo to fly you closer? :-)

Well I've asked a few questions, implemented a few tips, and I've managed to improve the image I originally posted back on page 1 of this thread. I even managed to find another photo to fill in the gap that was in the original image.

http://www.88qv.com/net/165.jpg

[muscleflex]

oops - should have read the full thread first....
thanks for the tips Bernoulli!! might try it out too some day...

[funhouse69]

Can I cheat a little and post one from 24 hours after the biggest moon? I was stuck at work the night of :-(

http://funhouse69.smugmug.com/photos/435905902_M3o6q-XL.jpg

[PM01]

The color can be done through narrowband filters. H-alpha, SII and OIII to be specific.

[PM01]

And the same one, processed for color this time.

Which telescope?

[Bernoulli]

Here's my scope:

http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09968 (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/%7Ecategory_id=cassegrains/%7Epcategory=telescopes/%7Eproduct_id=09968)

The tube is described here:

http://www.telescope.com/control/pro...oduct_id=09967 (http://www.telescope.com/control/product/%7Ecategory_id=cassegrains/%7Epcategory=telescopes/%7Eproduct_id=09967)

If you check the customer reviews, you'll see mine.

I shoot at prime focus and it usually takes three images to cover the entire moon. I then stitch them together in Photoshop.

The Maksutov gives you, IMHO, the best planetary images with the least need for adjustment and with the lightest weight. The entire setup costs less than a single L lens.

Sorarse - I've been meaning to post on here and tell you what a great image you've come up with. It's fun to do, isn't it?

[Sorarse]

It really is. I can't wait for a decent sky to get some images of the waning moon. The shadows along the terminator really help the details to stand out. And now that I have learnt how to bring the colour out, with your help, I'm really itching to get some more images.

[Ashyg]

from where i see the moon in Australia, there's a big easter bunny in the moon :P there must not be an easter bunny on the other side of the moon seen from the other side of the world ;)

[bReed]

Well Celestron, I have to admit I cheated and took my picture tonight too. I don't know about how things are in Midland, but the seeing is great up here so I couldn't resist. Here's mine. The moon is so big it's the first time I had to stitch together three images.
Nailed it!