19/8/11 - Waning gibbous Moon, and Jupiter snapshot (DMK)

[Takahashi]

According to the forecast, it was to be clear from around 2am-ish, but the Moon wasn't due to clear the mountainous tree-line in front of my place until at least 2:30-ish. It did, but there was still a lot of wispy cloud around, and it didn't really clear until nearer 4am. So, bleary of eye and watchful of ninja-kitty underfoot, I set up on the veranda. Got about 16 movie tiles of the Moon and a quick snap of Jupiter and the kids just as dawn was a-breakin'.

First, the Moon at prime focus on the FLT110/DMK :

(8 AVIs, 600 of 2000 frames each, stacked in AviStack 2.0, tiled in MS ICE, and post-processed in CS5 and PSP 9)

These are just a few areas of interest taken through the same setup as above, but using the 2x Powermate :

(1 AVI, 600 of 2000 frames, stacked in AviStack 2.0, tiled in MS ICE, and post-processed in CS5 and PSP 9)

Plato, Aristoteles and Eudoxus region, Vallis Alpes just visible near the centre :

(1 AVI, 600 of 2000 frames, stacked in AviStack 2.0, tiled in MS ICE, and post-processed in CS5 and PSP 9)

Mare Nectaris in shadow to the right of craters Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina :

(1 AVI, 600 of 2000 frames, stacked in AviStack 2.0, tiled in MS ICE, and post-processed in CS5 and PSP 9)

The ever-busy southern polar region, with crater Clavius at centre-left, arc of small to large internal craterlets clearly visible :

...and lastly, Jupe & family. Just a snapshot, again through the 2x Powermate with a hint of cheatin' - one vid at about 1/30th second for the moons, and one of the planet itself at about 1/125th second, and munged the two together in PSP.

Roll on the new season...

[nightfisher]

some cracking lunar shots, how on earth do you get your focus so razor sharp

[Takahashi]

Thanks

Focusing was done via the capture software that came with the DMK21 CCD, running on a laptop. There were periods of very still sky in-between very wobbly moments, giving me the chance to nail focus as accurately as possible. However, a fair bit of the clarity you see in the big image came as a result of the image-stacking and post-processing done afterwards.

[Steve 1962]

Hi Ivor

Those are really stunning! Congrats on your mention in POTW

Steve

[Euan]

Stunning stuff, that full shot would look great on a big poster

[Sam]

Excellent set of images! very crisp and detailed images of the moon and nice work on bagging four of Jupiters moons.

[foundaplanet]

Excellent lunar shots.. very much like the first one..

[johnh]

Brilliant lunar work with such strong detail, a little dark perhaps but splendid work putting this together.

John.

[alaskacam]

Great moon mosaic.

[Takahashi]

Thanks again folks...

John, you hit on something that always plagues me where exposing for and processing Moon images is concerned - expose the main body well, and brighter parts like Aristarchus and the outer limb get blown-out... but expose for those kind of highlights, and the rest ends up very dull and lacking in detail. I doubt I'll ever reach a happy medium.

[Stargazing_Cliff]

They are exellent!

[neil phillips]

Nice medium power work. Ill bet you have a Bright monitor, as John mentioned they are a little dark, My monitor is bright and i can see that. But the processing contrast sharpening is all lovely. Just need to figure that monitor situation, like you i have this problem too, It looks fine to me, but others are probably seeing it a order less bright, is what i have to keep reminding myself i often leave it a little brighter, to try and guess this. not good. As the instinct is to process what our eyes are telling us to. Wonder if im correct about your monitor i hope i am lol. Or you eat a lot carrots