Rookie mistake

[AndyWB]

So on Friday I decided to pack up and travel somewhere that actually might have darker skies. Off I went to a hill about an hour drive away and after diversions and getting lost twice, I got there. The sky still seemed a little bright - there was some glow from the set Sun. But as I got my scope out, and set up, I started to see a glow in the sky from the top of the hill. "Weird", I thought, "Is there a farm over there? Maybe some sort of event? A bonfire, perhaps?"

Nope. The moon. It was like a floodlight. You could read a book by it.

I'm sure that there is lesson there.

Still, I took a look around - from the shadow of my car - and saw Jupiter, Saturn, M36,37,38, Cat's Eye Nebula, M52, PANSTARRS, M65,66 (not great in the bright sky)

I might go there again, but next time, I'll check the state of the moon too. And use a GPS to get there.

[RonVen]

I had a similar experience with the overbearing bright moon. I watched the moon for quite some time. Over the next few days I bought a moon filter and book titled "The Six-Inch Lunar Atlas". If you can't beat them, join them. Happy moon watching.

Ron

[jambouk]

Yeah, i ordered a moon filter too with exactly the same thought ron.

James

[ollypenrice]

The only other thing you can do in bright moonlight is deep sky imaging in H alpha. It isn't moon-proof but it's worth the effort. You get more noise, significantly more as you are close to full moon, but at least it's possible.

Olly

[Matt Scunthorpe]

The Moon is always a great thing to look at, but not when youve travelled to a dark site!

Hope you get back out there soon and let us know how you get on

[AndyWB]

The only other thing you can do in bright moonlight is deep sky imaging in H alpha. It isn't moon-proof but it's worth the effort. You get more noise, significantly more as you are close to full moon, but at least it's possible.

Olly

Thanks, that's worth knowing, though I'm not heading down the imaging route yet (I have to sell a kidney first).

Yup, the moon is great too - but not worth a 2 hour round trip to somewhere darker when I could walk to the back of the flats and see the same...

[Schorhr]

I can relate to that :-)

New 130p, first clear sky, out on the field... and then this blinding light...

At least it helped with setting up a new telescope without having to use a flashlight ;-)

[LukeSkywatcher]

The Moon is a great target when it is not full (no contrast or detail) and it makes observing DSO difficult. I tend not to bother observing a couple of days before or after a full moon.