First Attempt at using a home made digital eyepiece

[Phil_W_UK]

Hi All,

Although it has not been the clearest sky tonight, I wanted to try out my new hyper expensive digital eyepiece. I would hate to put a precise figure on it's cost, but it could be as high as ooh.... £2.50   

I should have waited for the sky to clear, but as I am at college tomorrow for my first lecture in nearly 30 years, I want to get an early night so I am fresh in the morning.

Anyhow, sorry I am rambling, I managed to take my first ever photo of the Moon

But I was amazed at what I saw. From the crater in the upper right quadrant of the picture, there seems to be a series of lines radiating out and running longitudinally. What are these? Are they mountain ranges or ridges? I know they are not an artefact of the camera, as I could see them through an optical eyepiece.

Hopefully I shall have a clearer night tomorrow and then I can see just how good or bad my £2.50 eyepiece is

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Those are crater rays, brighter material from beneath the Moon's surface deposited by impacts. The crater at upper right is Tycho, the Moon's youngest large crater. The impact would have put on quite a light show for the dinosaurs.

[Mukv]

greetings

The crater  is called tycho  here is a link with a little information that may be of interest.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tycho_(crater)

beware the lunar vampire it looks like it's bite has found you lol!

Andy

[Knight of Clear Skies]

Also, congratulations on your first lunar image.

[Qualia]

I managed to take my first ever photo of the Moon

Great work, Phil and I look forward to seeing more of your art work in the future. Thank you for sharing this

[Phil_W_UK]

Thank you all for both your informative comments and also your very kind remarks.

You maybe right about the Luna Vampire, but as a complete beginner, it seems a logical subject of initial observation. As it is so close, it makes a brilliant target and it is less affected by the horrific  light pollution around my home.

But it has really made me really understand 'The Airless Vacuum of Space' Just the fact that the ejector deposit from an impact 108 million years ago is still visible on the surface of the moon has kind of blown me away a little bit.

I guess it also shows the destructive effect of an atmosphere.... Also it shows how difficult it is to date features that are absolutely not subject to erosion and deterioration.

So, my first question here has opened up a whole raft of thoughts that are sparking their way through synapses that have lain dormant for many years.

Thank you all for your assistance.

(I must admit that there is a nice little glow of pride from being able to take my first photo. I have looked at digital eyepieces available on a famous online auction site and found the cheapest is nearly £50. So I ordered an ultra cheap webcam at £1.70 including free postage! I am fortunate to have a 3d printer and have printed a small housing that sits on top of a skywatcher 25mm eyepiece and bingo, a digital eyepiece for the grand total of about £2.50 including the plastic to make the housing)

As a PS, I would be happy to provide the item number for the webcam, and also the .STL file should anyone want to print their own.....