Marvin Jenkins

I have always used a moon filter unless viewing a small crescent. I just find the image too bright. Last night I had an hour of Lunar viewing very near to full moon. I have just started the Lunar 100 so I have head torch on red light to use a handheld moon map, my right hand holds my phone so I can use the voice recorder and I view with my right eye. After an hour I can barely see straight to change ep’s. Without an ND filter I don’t think I would last ten minutes.

I used to collect stamps when I was kid as my uncle was an airline pilot and would send me mint stamps from places he flew too. I gave it all away when I was sixteen but only regret one loss. A post card of Apollo 11 with Apollo stamp posted to my dad from Cape Canaveral on the day that the moon shot took off. I have an empty place in my heart for that loss now I love astronomy. Marv

I am not going to beat on about the weather but I will say that my last decent clear night was early October! Also lets not mention the clear night that featured the meteor shower that never was. Tonight it has been clear and I thought I have to do a Lunar session at least as it has been so long and right now we are fogged out by ten pm. I set up the EQ5 with the 150pds in daylight and waited for dusk. It was pretty much dark by six pm so I got it all pointed in the right direction and dived in. Now in my previous sessions I have tried to take notes using paper and pen, so much moisture the paper is useless in twenty minutes. Yesterday I found out I have a voice recorder on my phone and decided to use that. The biggest question... do I really sound like Steptoe? Seems so. Started with a 25mm plossle, and I am happy with the initial view of the clear dark Maria floors. Copernicus and Aristillus showing bright white rays. Mare Imbrium is just incredible. Sinus Iridum could not be better, the terminator just behind the Montes Jura. Crater Bianchini so stark and defined. Can’t see wrinkle ridges yet, but right there in Mare Imbrium two small equal size craters of Le Verrier and Helicon. A really noticeable feature of the Jura mountains is the final peak on the south end near the Luna 17 site. Looks like a single peak casting a black shadow. Moving south to a crater with bright white ray system, I look it up on my small moon map, it is Aristarchus. It is right on the terminator, I don’t think it is possible for there to be that much contrast. The crater is cut clean in half, total black with the west wall completely illuminated. Sadly Valois Schroteri is in darkness. Close by and showing shadows are Montes Harbinger. I keep moving south through Oceanus Procellarum and Crater Letronne takes my breath away, my moon map does not do that justice. A touch more than half a crater with a flooded floor. Farther south crater Mersenius to the west of Mare Humorum is really showing off, incredible contrast. Cassendi is the star of the show, clearly visible a central mountain peak. I can see that the north wall has been struck leaving a perfect poc mark. A lot farther south an elongated crater really catches my eye, I think it is Schiller. There are so many craters in the south that it is hard to tell. Back to Mare Humorum and what appears to be a crater opposite Cassendi, it is Vitello. I keep looking and I realises that it is one of a complex of three craters that look like horse shoes side by side as they appear to be missing there north walls. I pop in the 17mm ep and notice that the west side of Humorum shows some fascinating structure. It looks a little like the lava floor has been pushed up into the Mare wall. I wonder if it is collapsed terracing form overlapping craters? I look it up after the session and appears to be Rimae Mersenius, A first for me as I had never heard of it. Time to go all out and use the 10mm. The central peak of Letronne now showing and I can just make out two small bright craters on the flooded floor either side of the central mountain. I am just starting to see some wrinkle detail on the floor of Mare Humorum but that dreaded fog is starting to come in and it is already below zero so I pack up and cuddle the log burner for a while. I can’t believe how much detail there is to be had with a relatively small scopes. I will be reminding myself to ‘do Lunar’ once in a while instead of moaning about it getting in the way of Messier hunting. Happy crater hunting to you all. Marvin

To use a phrase I heard recently “that’s crisp, like Walkers”.

Double decker bus!

Thank you for the link, very interesting. I am aware of this phenomenon but the comparison of Plato A between the two pictures LAC and hi res are radically different. My guess is that the LAC image uses data from over lapping images so the complete print has resolution from edge to edge. My second guess is that the hi res picture lacks definition towards it corners as the centre is so crisp. M

Plato A still looks like a ginger bread star (keeping it in the Christmas spirit)

Amazing accuracy, takes my breath away. I have noticed one curious thing that has me puzzled. Where in the hi res picture is Plato A? There is clearly something there but it looks like a low lying mountain. There seems to be no crater structure at all and it it clearly shown on the LAC chart along with what looks like a fault line like rupes rector. M

Don’t want to get anyone’s backs up as I have replied to a thread about cone error on an EQ6 mount in the not to distant past that needed moderator imput, in this section. My question is, that this thread is posted in the beginners section. I realise that the heading getting started with equipment help and advice applies to dan-adi’s question. The level of technical know how and mention of observatory doesn’t seem in keeping with ‘beginner’ I may be wrong, but it seems to sit more comfortably in the equipment section about mounts. I was a beginner two years ago and most of this thread I do not understand now. Heaven only knows what a beginner/new member of this forum must think. I may be wrong but I am happy to take opinion. Marvin

Thank you Maniek, for starting this thread. Many links and invaluable tit bits of info. If it is clear I am going to get up early tomorrow and do a Lunar excursion off the back of all this. Marv

I have dreamed of a wall big enough to paste them on in there entirety. Then it was pointed out to me that I could take my scope outside and look at the real thing, feel like such a fool. M

Wonderfull. I have the charts saved but couldn’t find the link. Are they the same as the final image or just similar in colour and rendition?

Sorry can’t find the link but I will try to attach some of the charts. They are marked 1967. Perhaps someone else on here knows there origine, sorry I just can’t remember here source. That is the first two of many, but if the source is not found I would be happy to wipe up my up load limit. Marv

That last image in the line of pictures reminds me of something I have on file. It may not be the same but I found a set of images from early lunar reconnaissance orbiters before Apollo. I will try to find to find the link and back to everyone, as they are amazing. M

Really good to have you here. Don’t worry too much about equipment right now. Enjoy any clear nights you have and learn the sky if you haven’t done that already. Marv

Thank you for coming back to me. Obviously everyone’s conditions are different and my cloud cover was way thinner and white. I think the end result was the same, as there appears to be a large light halo around the moon then bands. My visual literally had a circular rainbow around the outside of the halo. Colour at night is always a bit of a supprise. Thanks again for replying Marvin

Living in rural France means great wine and food, clean air and very little light pollution, heaven obviously? The downside is there are no shops and the nearest town is 30 minutes drive away, hence no light pollution. The trouble is finding equipment. Live in the middle of nowhere and have access to nothing. Hopefully I will find a lense, point it to the sky, and post it on here. My problem right now is that the stock 18-55 set to manual focus has so little movement it is useless for nighttime work. M

Thank you for the info, most kind. Funny how we all seem to have a love hate relationship with the moon. I thought the picture was quite sharp, but I do know what you mean as I have posted a couple of pics and they appear way worse on here than my pc screen. I recently looked at Samyang lenses on the web, but that is a discussion for a different part of this forum. I am however going to try and find a manual focus, wide angle, prime lense from back in the day to fit my Nikon D3100 whilst in London. If successful I will post any results on here. Cheers Beulah. M

Daz you have to do it. For all of us that have not, cannot or would love the idea. Put your build on here, I would like to see it as next year I have plans for a chicken house obsy. ROR Obsy that looks like a chicken house with out door run that is actually the structure the roof rolls onto. Never know I might get some hens just to make it look authentic. Marv

Sorry to say I will be in central London for the Ursids, what a shame. Will be visiting the meteorite room at the natural history museum. Got to say, not just a great picture because of the streak, but a great wide field milky way. Any info on exposure duration ISO etc ? Marv

Did you manage to find those pics? It’s imbedded in my memory, but you know how it is, you sometimes think ‘did I really see that” M

I have taken notice of your determination over the past months, possibly year. I am in awe of your dedication. Sometimes, look up for meteors and wonder if I am the only one, right there, right at that time. Then I find myself saying out loud, “maw lod qan”. If it wasn’t for the time difference we could be looking at the same thing. The skies cleared (shock) last night at 1am. Saw an amazing meteor, burning orange from east to west and a further four small streaks in the minutes that followed. I am going to say that I am a witness to the Geminids. Keep it up everyone. Absolute meteor nut right here. Beulah. Great photo, sums up all the effort well done. Marv

The weather out there! I’m definitely going to miss it.

I am a little confused by your post as you seem to be coming from the opposite direction of most people who ask this question. If you have already been imaging using your scope and creating photos then I have to assume you have a working knowledge of the night sky. Imaging is a challenging and technical subject. As for visual, I would say remove any flatterers or photo related gear, pop in a wide field eye piece and look through it with your eye. As you already have knowledge of the night sky you should be able to see star clusters, plan nebs, galaxies but probably not that much of the pure nebulas. Marvin

JOC. I get your message entirely, well said. Perhaps I was too strong in my opinions and voicing them. If so my apologies. In a more measured way I was trying to say that the challenges can sometimes seem like an arms race. And if an SGL’r doesn’t have a bunch of post processing software and the knowledge to use it, it can seem pointless to enter the challenges. After reading my post I want to apologise to Grant. You seem to have enough on your plate without someone (me) deciding on a unilateral boycott. I have looked through the mirror the other way and decided to enter any future challenge if I can meet the criteria. It was pointed out to me that perhaps that is how the winners got their mugs. Yeh.... my wife was right. “Stop moaning and do something about it” M