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The Moon in Phases - A project

jgs001

By jgs001
in Imaging - Lunar

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jgs001

jgs001

Posted
Posted

As you've probably seen, I've posted many moon pictures over the course of the past year or two, well I've finally got enough... and have put them together... into a moon phase image.

Each moon image is a full frame image shot using my SLR, the same for the sun in the middle (I'm not sure on this, but there's no way I'll ever get a picture of the Earth to suit, and it does fit to show the illumination). I have another idea for a central image, but have yet to manage to get the shot I want.

Anyway... the details

Celestron 80ED with a 2x Teleconverter and 35mm Macro Tubes, Canon 450d. Each is a single image.

The image starts at the bottom and goes counter clockwise waxing through waning.

moonmonthcircle.jpg

It's rather dramatically shrunk, the full size image being 23000x22000 pixels. It takes forever on my mac to do anything with it too... I've not, at this time, posted the full size version anywhere, I want to get the alternate centre piece, then put up my preferred one.

I do have another idea for a layout, but that's for more complicated (it took many hours to work through all the layers and get them positioned correctly to do even a simple circle).

Still, I hope you all like this one.

An Alternate version

moonmonthcirclecolourmoon.jpg

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lukebl

lukebl

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Beautifully done. 23000 x 22000 pixels would look magnificent printed off. It would need to be about the size of a living-room wall! I guess most of us can't be bothered to get up to catch the waning crescents (me included)

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Dave Smith

Dave Smith

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That is a wonderful way of presenting it John, and well done on capturing all the phases. A few years ago a couple of us set out to do something similar. We thought it would be quite simple but took something like 4 years !!

I have one comment however. Have you not got the two sides incorrect? The front and back are fine but you seem to have the Sun illuminating the shaded part of the Moon on all but the top and bottom images. Unless of course I have misunderstood what you are doing.

Dave

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jgs001

jgs001

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Thanks all...

Dave, you're right about the sun... Personally, I thought the moons shadow section inward looked more aesthetic, but I'll look at reversing it.. I'm not sure they'll all go in easily though...

edit: I've looked at it, I don't like the way the image builds up with the shadow outwards.

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Dave Smith

Dave Smith

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Hi again John. On reflection (no pun intended) I think my suggestion was silly. It is not the relative orientations of the Moon images that is wrong but rather the existence of the Sun itself in that position. I think that your presentation would be much better if the Sun were removed.

As it is, it gives the impression that the Moon orbits the Sun from the point of view of the Earth which is not the case. One could argue that perhaps there should be an Earth in the middle position as the Moon does orbit the Earth. However, your Moon images are as seen from the Earth, not from a point in space looking towards the Earth/Moon system.

So in my view, the way you have presented the phases is brilliant but the Sun image is not relevent so would, in my opinion, be better not there. Having done something similar in the past I fully appreciate the effort gone into this.

Do you display your images on a website? It would be nice to be able to make each Moon image clickable to see the full size image of that phase.

Please feel free to ignore my points - it is after all your project - and a very worthwhile project too.

Dave

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jgs001

jgs001

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You mean something like this Dave ?

moonmonthcircle-1.jpg

I thought the gap needed filling on this layout... I was thinking something like this really... rather than the sun

moonmonthcirclescope.jpg

but I'm not that happy with that one either...

thinking on it, I think the alternate presentation I have in mind is probably better still, but that's something that will take a lot more processing to get right...

Your website idea is an intriguing one... I don't per se, only the Astro blog... I'm not sure that would easily accomodate what would be needed though... but I'll think on that one some more.

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Ptarmigan

Ptarmigan

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Bravo! Superb montage, very interesting, APODworthy.

>>"How about a coloured moon for the center piece"

>"Or a lunar eclipse shot"

Or a solar eclipse shot down near the new moon and a lunar eclipse up near the full moon.

Thus showing two other aspects of the moon.

Might take a bit longer to get those though, unless John has them under his belt already !!

Malcolm.

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Photosbykev

Photosbykev

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great presentation John, personally I would go for a large full colour moon in the centre to give it more of a 'clock' feel or a ghosted out background of a moon as a clock face but it would have to be one hell of a mosaic to give you a big enough image on the full size file, the early comments about the sun are right imo.

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