The Moon with 8''

[Mandy D]

2 minutes ago, astrolulu said:

Thanks! The brightest parts are a bit too burnt out. I always try to stay slightly below this limit, but this time something tempted me to brighten the image too much 🙂

I'm seeing a lot of lunar images that are similarly processed at the moment and I do prefer your usual approach, but this is still very detailed and a good image. Maybe you have been influenced by what you are seeing others do?

[astrolulu]

I think a more accurate description would be "fooled by the poor quality matrix of the HP ProBook's monitor" :-)

[Rusted]

What monitor are you using for your image processing following capture? Surely not the HP?

As an aside I think it would be useful to add some small text to your images to show the instrument, Barlow and camera used. Perhaps even the mounting. Having rushed through your thread admiring the many images I must have missed mention of your mounting. Having this basic information to hand means others can compare their own progress as they attempt to emulate your very high standards. 

My "best" casually captured images of the moon are taken with a 150mm f/10 achromat, 2x Barlow and ASI174MM. While I managed to capture three small craters within Plato the image is full of over-sharpening artefacts. I would not even consider sharing such an image beside your amazing work.

[astrolulu]

Hello, thanks for your comments and reactions. Each photo is described in one of the corners, where I indicate what instrument and camera it was taken with. For short focal lengths - such as in the Newton telescope - I use a 2x, 2'' ED Barlow, while for SCT telescopes, the 2.4 nm pixel size of the cameras I use (ASI 183MC, ASI 178MC) fits well to a focal length of about 2 m, so I do not use any additional lenses . I take all photos using simple EQ-5 mounts - EXOS-2 or Celestron Advanced GT. Due to short exposure times used in planetary photography, the quality of the mount does not matter much - it only matters that it can carry the telescope and that the object remains more or less in the field of view within a few minutes 🙂

Edited November 11, 2023 by astrolulu

[Rusted]

Thanks.

Sorry I missed your tiny text with my ageing near sight.
I was curious to compare your results with your various instruments.
Your superb images will hopefully inspire others to try their luck.

[astrolulu]

I'll tell you honestly - I've found out that when it comes to this type of photography, diameter is king. Nothing else makes any noticeable difference, no quality of optics, etc. What you can see in photos taken with an 8-inch telescope is due to the 8-inch diameter and is very similar for all 8-inch instruments I have used. I think this is the basic conclusion from the comparison I am showing here, which includes both photos taken with the expensive Meade LX200 ACF and the simplest, old Newtonian telescope or an ordinary SCT. Unfortunately, there is no magic trick or price to overcome the limitations resulting from the diameter.

[Mandy D]

52 minutes ago, astrolulu said:

I'll tell you honestly - I've found out that when it comes to this type of photography, diameter is king. Nothing else makes any noticeable difference, no quality of optics, etc. What you can see in photos taken with an 8-inch telescope is due to the 8-inch diameter and is very similar for all 8-inch instruments I have used. I think this is the basic conclusion from the comparison I am showing here, which includes both photos taken with the expensive Meade LX200 ACF and the simplest, old Newtonian telescope or an ordinary SCT. Unfortunately, there is no magic trick or price to overcome the limitations resulting from the diameter.

Absolutely! 100%. Resolution is all about diameter and as long as you have at least diffraction limited optics, you are simply not going to do better without upgrading the size of the telescope. The only other thing left, once the scope is matched to pixel size, is the skill of the imager and you have that licked!

[astrolulu]

The weather is so miserable that there is nothing else to do but reach back to last year's arrears and finish processing the autumn photos. For example, I came across this... Technically it's not exciting, but the lighting of Copernicus and its surroundings turned out to be so interesting that I decided it was worth presenting. September 9, 2023 by NexStar 8SE:

 

[Swoop1]

Not exiting?

The presence of a myriad of small, dark craters to explore gives plenty to look at.

[Mr Spock]

That's an excellent image with a different presentation of features we are used to seeing with different illuminations to this.

[Swoop1]

I have revisited this image and am getting even more from it.

Vallis Schroteri snaking its way in towards Aristarchus

The muted ejecta ray from Kepler

Every viewing is a revelation.

[PatrickO]

Hi Astrolulu

Just wanted to add my congratulations on the images you have produced. Well done and thank you.

[astrolulu]

Thank you so much for these inspiring comments! It's time to post something to revive the thread. The first frames from the memorable Tuesday, March 19. The night near Krakow was beautiful, unique compared to what had been happening since the beginning of the year...

As for technological innovations - I used the ZWO ADC corrector, although the Moon was so high that there was no special justification for it. But that's what I meant - I wanted to check whether the ADC would not worsen the effect even when it is clearly not necessary. It doesn't seem to worsen the picture.

NexStar 8SE + ZWO ASI 183 MC camera with Baader UV/IR-cut L filter.

 

[Elara]

I’ve just come across this thread and your images of the Moon, ( a favourite to observe; visual only) and I’d echo what @PatrickO and others have previously said - these are superb lunar images. I’m working my way through the Lunar 100 and back in February I got an ‘amazing’ view of no.17 Schroters Valley; it was almost 3D due to its close position to the terminator?

Keep them coming and thanks for the link to your Moon map! - I’ll use it as a reference (split screen) whilst watching the amazing video images from this site.

Clear skies/great seeing…

Graham

Edited March 24 by Elara

[astrolulu]

Thanks so much Graham! I'm very happy to hear that my map is being used. It is true that this is an "analog" project in a sense and does not allow for development along with the progress of technology - as is the case with interactive maps. Well, that was the idea - to do something that is available with one click, without having to run the software. Of course, this significantly limits functionality, so it's good to know that someone still sees a reason to use such a solution 🙂

An here the next image, extending slightly further north, covering Tycho's neighborhood:

 

[ONIKKINEN]

Great images once again! Always happy to see this thread updated, really a treasure trove of tack sharp extremely classy lunar RGB images.

[astrolulu]

Thank you very much, it was an exceptionally nice night and good conditions. I took more shots, but unfortunately some of them turned out to be spoiled due to the strange striped pattern that appeared on the stacks - especially in places with less varied textures. I'm trying to identify the source of the problem - the only hardware difference from previous sessions is the use of ADC...

[Jeff-Colorado]

Beautiful detail. I also have an 8SE and I'm getting back into observing. It's a great scope for the Moon.

[astrolulu]

Thanks Jeff, the telescope seems quite decent, although it requires careful attention to collimation, and the standard coma correction turns out to be a bit insufficient with a large sensor. Even in my ASI 183 camera, it happens that the outer parts of the frame lose precision due to coma.

Edited March 28 by astrolulu