Taking a mosaic of the Moon

[Vic L S]

Hi all, 

I finally had the chance to have a go at lunar imaging with my C8 EdgeHD set up (I've attached a picture of my setup). It's been out for a few test nights but mainly just to try and get both the eyepiece and camera in focus at the same time. (I've managed rough focus in both but not at the same time, still need to re-focus a little as I swap between the eyepiece/ camera - anyone with a similar set up can offer some advice on how to improve this?)

I took a few videos of the full moon (Buck Moon) on the 20th and stacked them on AutoStakkert, then processed on PixInsight. This is the resulting image. It's not perfect, I'm sure my focus could be better - but it is a first trial run to have a go at lunar imaging as this is something I'd like to try and get better at (I've only ever done DSO imaging, with a smaller refractor).

My question is: how does one go about taking a mosaic of the moon at such high magnification? Is it quite literally a matter of taking videos of multiple panels and stitching them together? Is there an easier way to do this - I use an ASIair? Or would it be better to use the 0.7x reducer to try and fit more of the moon in a single frame?

As for stitching panels together - what is the best programme to do this? Do I have to stack each image on Autostakkert before stitching them together, or again, is there a more efficient way to go about this? 

Any feedback, tips or suggestions really welcome, and will be ready to try again on the next cloudless night! 

Thanks in advance x

Set up: C8 Edge HD, ASIair, ZWO 462MC, Baader Flip Mirror II, AM3 and EAF. 

[Cornelius Varley]

3 minutes ago, Vic L S said:

My question is: how does one go about taking a mosaic of the moon at such high magnification? Is it quite literally a matter of taking videos of multiple panels and stitching them together? Is there an easier way to do this - I use an ASIair? Or would it be better to use the 0.7x reducer to try and fit more of the moon in a single frame?

As for stitching panels together - what is the best programme to do this? Do I have to stack each image on Autostakkert before stitching them together, or again, is there a more efficient way to go about this? 

The operation of creating the individual mosaic frames can be automated using EQMosaic  EQMOD (sourceforge.net) or Moon Panorama Maker. Both of these automate the movement of the mount to create overlapping images. If you use a focal reducer you also reduce the resolution and level of detail in the final image. Stitching the individual panels together can be accomplished using Photoshop or Microsoft ICE Image Composite Editor: Downloads - Microsoft Research . There are now probably new/better ways to do this.

[Vic L S]

47 minutes ago, Cornelius Varley said:

The operation of creating the individual mosaic frames can be automated using EQMosaic  EQMOD (sourceforge.net) or Moon Panorama Maker. Both of these automate the movement of the mount to create overlapping images. If you use a focal reducer you also reduce the resolution and level of detail in the final image. Stitching the individual panels together can be accomplished using Photoshop or Microsoft ICE Image Composite Editor: Downloads - Microsoft Research . There are now probably new/better ways to do this.

Thank you - I've only ever used the ASIair for my imaging sessions so would have to learn how to operate with a laptop. Would I need any additional software to run the session?