What do people look at when... ?

[johnd]

Following on from another post I wondered what people look at when its clear but full moon dominates and you can't even look at it? Yes, I do look at Jupiter but found myself looking for some Double Stars in Gemini and U.Major but its still difficult as the other constellations are washed out to get reference stars? Just curious.

[swamp thing]

The drinks cabinet

Seriously, I tend to get on with other stuff and ignore observing around full moon.

[todd8137]

Well the moon is spectacular and should not be dismissed there's plenty of craters to tick off as the lunar phases roll on by ,doubles and binary a are still worth a look ,invest in a neodymium filter the baader one is top draw

Pat

[johnd]

Well the moon is spectacular and should not be dismissed there's plenty of craters to tick off as the lunar phases roll on by ,doubles and binary a are still worth a look ,invest in a neodymium filter the baader one is top draw

Pat

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I did look at the moons edge craters but didn't plan on ID'ing them, after looking for M81/82, as its quite blinding on a Barlowed 2.x on my 12mm EP. I'm not sure if a fliter would improve my SW London LP, I'll need to see what others in this area think about this as some of the reviews seem to be mixed?

[JimmyC]

With a full moon you're pretty much limited to bright open clusters, double stars and planets. Anything that's already faint on a dark night isn't going to be visible with a mag -12 moon shining!

[rwilkey]

The Baader Neodymium is quite a good general purpose filter, but the best and cheapest way to reduce the glare and give you quality views is the ND96 0.9 filter giving you 13% transmission.  The filters can be picked up for as little as £9.99.

[AlexB67]

I don't tend to look at the moon when completely full, seems a bit flat in terms of shadows and lighting, but mostly around that period before and after.

There was a time I use to curse the moon for a bit.  All I wanted was DSO this that and the other   Now I have learned to love it.  I found rather than just looking at it casually as I did to begin with, selecting specific targets and organising what can be best seen just as I do for deep sky and other targets is the way to enjoy it, for me anyway. Reading the lunar observing section often has interesting posts to see what others are looking at around the time.

I use virtual moon atlas, a free download,  and look a the lunar 100 list and pick my features to look at on any for any given night before I start. Now I am loving it, and in doing so you learn to see so much more on this target that offers something unique in terms of details that cannot be seen on anything else. A great way to see what your scope can deliver and train yourself to see detail too.

btw, If you got a UHC filter already, this can help when the moon is around as well a bit I find.

[cotterless45]

TV

[Paul73]

I was wondering this as well. Beginning to feel really cheated that every full moon, clear sky. Every new moon, cloud central......

Robin's suggestion is great for the moon watching. My Baader 0.9 dims things down nicely and gives great contrast. But if you don't want to look at the moon......

Q for Pat - is the Neodymium a moon filter? Or, a filter that cuts down on moon LP?

Paul

[Paul73]

I find that frequency of my trips to the village pub is directly correlated with full moon....

The conspiracy theorists at the bar have started giving me funny looks. This could be be something to do with phases like "better get going. The moon will be setting soon." Or "Q - free for a pint on Tuesday? A - Hmm, not sure, it is a new moon you know."

Paul

[AndyWB]

+1 for what Alex said - I prefer the Moon when when it has a little angle to it. I've been trying to make the most of Mars at the moment, though.

If you have to look at the moon when it's full like it is, one thing that does seem better under illumination, and worth looking at, is Reiner Gamma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiner_Gamma ). It looks like a flat-fish to me.

[Skipper Billy]

If life gives you lemons - make lemonade !!!!

[JamesF]

TV

How you dress when the Moon is full is no concern of ours, I'm sure

James

[Carina Lass]

How very open minded James...

I wonder why that occurred to you...

[cuivenion]

Strangely enough I managed to find M81 for the first time tonight. It was very hard to make out but it was there, I just need a dark sky to see more detail.

[Pete Presland]

clear nights have been such a rare event i am quite happy looking at the full moon. dim the image with a filter slightly, it got to be better than watching the dross on the TV

[johnd]

Thank you for all the reply and suggestions. I do love looking at the moon and can't wait until it starts to shadow again, I have my detailed Lunar Atlas printed out ready to track the features if clear skies permit. I guess I'm just keen to try all aspects of this hobbie and the hunt for DSO (LP allowing) really appeals, despite my lack of success so far.

[hobsey]

Following on from another post I wondered what people look at when its clear but full moon dominates and you can't even look at it?

FLO, Modern Astronomy, Astrobuysell, ebay to name a few websites to spend money that I haven't got.

[Paul73]

FLO, Modern Astronomy, Astrobuysell, ebay to name a few websites to spend money that I haven't got.

Come to think of it. I did buy a CCD web cam and all the bits and bobs a couple of full moons ago. Thought that I could try some Planet & Moon imaging.

Plugged it in. Didn't work properly. Got impatient. Back in box.

Not sure that I'm cut out for imaging........

This full moon? Sky Safari Pro on Sunday and a new Vixen SLV 6mm eyepiece last night.

Next full moon has got Delos written all over it. but also .

Help!

Paul

[neural]

Following on from another post I wondered what people look at when its clear but full moon dominates and you can't even look at it? Yes, I do look at Jupiter but found myself looking for some Double Stars in Gemini and U.Major but its still difficult as the other constellations are washed out to get reference stars? Just curious.

I love looking at the full moon at low power with a map (or iPad app), just learning my way around. 

I remember someone on SGL pointing out that the moon always has a terminator (*), even when 'full', so you always have an opportunity to see some feature or other at its best. Close to full moon, that'll be the things you see nearly side-on. 

Also check the libration that day (http://sourceforge.net/projects/virtualmoon/ is what I use); there may be features at one edge which you can't always see. 

Are there any occultations that night? I use Lunar Occultation Workbench, though Stellarium I believe is pretty good if you enter your position accurately. (In the interests of full disclosure, I admit I have never actually seen an occultation... but I'll have my eye on lambda Gem in May.)

And when you're all mooned out, don't forget carbon stars. Like doubles, they sound really boring in principle, but are amazing in practice. Even my unimpressable other half thought the one I showed her was quite cool (W Ori I think). 

(*) Well, OK, occasionally it's perfectly full; at these times it goes all orange and you can't see a thing, so TV on those nights I suppose