some Lunar close-ups from 2nd March 2023

[Roy Foreman]

Taken with my 16" F/4.5 reflector and Baader FFC, extending the focal length toaround  5400mm F/13.5.

Camera was an ASI 183MM 20mpx and Proplanet 807 IR filter.

A bit ambitious, so I bumped up the gain to maintain a shorter integration time. Not entirely sure it was the right thing to do.

50% of 2000 frames at 19 fps and 6ms integration time.

Thanks for looking.

[Roy Challen]

Great set of images. I particularly like the last one, the mountain just south of Plato looks amazingly detailed.

[The Admiral]

That's worked well! As a 'view', I like the last one best. Natural processing, and not oversharpened.

Ian

[Roy Foreman]

2 hours ago, Roy Challen said:

Great set of images. I particularly like the last one, the mountain just south of Plato looks amazingly detailed.

Thank you Roy, glad you like them. I was surprised they came out as well as they did. the IR filter certainly helps with sharpness, but saps a lot of light !

[Roy Foreman]

2 hours ago, The Admiral said:

That's worked well! As a 'view', I like the last one best. Natural processing, and not oversharpened.

Ian

Thank you Ian. I find it really difficult to judge just how much to sharpen without overdoing it, particularly as images posted on the web loose a lot of detail from the originals. Glad you like them.

[malc-c]

Ok... how the hell did you sneak onboard the Orion capsule with your camera to get those amazing shots !!

The second and last images impressed me the most.... I wonder what the resolution is in that image, in terms of the diameter of the smallest crater

 

[Roy Foreman]

9 hours ago, malc-c said:

Ok... how the hell did you sneak onboard the Orion capsule with your camera to get those amazing shots !!

The second and last images impressed me the most.... I wonder what the resolution is in that image, in terms of the diameter of the smallest crater

 

Ahh my secret is out !  If only I could actually get above earth's atmosphere to avoid all that turbulence !

The real secret is probably a combination of factors.  Using a large telescope helps, not so much in raw resolution but more in light grasp to keep integration times shorter.  And the Baader FFC, which uses real fluorite elements and is far sharper than any barlow or powermate.  Then there is the IR filter. It saps a lot of light, but makes a huge difference to overall sharpness.  Finally I shoot in twilight where at my location seeing is usually better.

Now I just need to upgrade the muppet at the controls !

No idea what the actual resolution is, but like you I would be interested to know.  Someone much cleverer than me could no doubt work it out.

Glad you like the images Malcolm, and thanks for your comments.

Roy

 

[chiltonstar]

Nice - the Plato craterlets are just starting to show.

Chris

[Mr Spock]

Great set of images 👍

[Roy Foreman]

58 minutes ago, chiltonstar said:

Nice - the Plato craterlets are just starting to show.

Chris

Thank you Chris.  One of my aims is to one day record as many of these craterlets as I can.  Something to aim for.

[Roy Foreman]

8 minutes ago, Mr Spock said:

Great set of images 👍

Thank you Michael - glad you like them.

[The Admiral]

2 hours ago, Roy Foreman said:

No idea what the actual resolution is

I know little about the Moon, but this set me searching. The Plato craterlets are discussed in this CN post, which I guess you are familiar with.

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/34841-guide-to-plato-craterlets/

Also, the Central Rille in the Alpine Valley is just about there, and from this (https://the-moon.us/wiki/Alpine_Valley_Central_Rille) I see it's about 1km wide max.

So you should be able to get some indication of the resolution.

Don't know if that helps? I'm sure others more knowledgeable than me can help.

Ian

[Roy Foreman]

Thanks for that info Ian.  It seems that the largest craterlet in Plato is 1.7 miles across.  In my original image I count 5 craterlets, and I estimate the smallest to be about 1 mile across.  I have produced a selective enlargement - heavily processed - to hopefully show these in web format.

Roy

 

[chiltonstar]

Your resolution should be about 2x better than with my scope (180 Mak) which on a night with good lighting and seeing showed these.

Chris

 

[Roy Foreman]

You've hit the nail on the head, Chris, lighting and seeing probably have more influence on the final result than anything else.  When I took my images the seeing was poor, so probably not realising the full resolution possibilities.  I also have a 180 Mak which performs superbly but at F/15 and with an IR filter the resulting integration times tend to be a lot longer than the 16" at F/4.5.

You did well recording those craterlets - I count around 9 which is pretty good going - well done.

[CraigT82]

Lovely images Roy. I might add that using the IR filter will reduce the resolving power of the scope. The shorter the wavelength of the filtered light the better the resolution, however you will need good seeing to go with those shorter wavelengths.

[Roy Foreman]

On 08/03/2023 at 09:52, CraigT82 said:

Lovely images Roy. I might add that using the IR filter will reduce the resolving power of the scope. The shorter the wavelength of the filtered light the better the resolution, however you will need good seeing to go with those shorter wavelengths.

I've heard this before somewhere - blue light gives better resolution but red light makes it through the turbulence, of which there is no shortage in my location. Twilight seems to give the best seeing here.

Thanks for your comments and glad you like the images.

Roy

[Swoop1]

Nice set of images Roy.

I like the first one because it is reminicent of the sort of views seen in Apollo footage during TEI burns etc- the Command Module skimming a bare few miles above the surface as it makes its way home.

The last one I like because the Mare Imbrium/ Montes Alps region is one of my favourites.

The rest are enjoyable as well for various reasons. I like the way some of the small crater chains look like footprints of birds scurrying accross wetland mud.

[Roy Foreman]

34 minutes ago, Swoop1 said:

Nice set of images Roy.

I like the first one because it is reminicent of the sort of views seen in Apollo footage during TEI burns etc- the Command Module skimming a bare few miles above the surface as it makes its way home.

The last one I like because the Mare Imbrium/ Montes Alps region is one of my favourites.

The rest are enjoyable as well for various reasons. I like the way some of the small crater chains look like footprints of birds scurrying accross wetland mud.

Thank you so much for your poetic descriptions of the various images, glad you like them. It seems different images appeal to different people for different reasons,  proof if ever it was needed that we are all individuals. I have yet to decide which is my favourite part of the moon as it is all so stunning, but I do have a preference for very thin crescent and earthshine. 

Many thanks

Roy