More Earthshine

[Kain]

Been experimenting again tonight with the S6500

F6.5

2 sec Ex

F6.5

4 sec Ex

F7.1

2.5 Sec Ex

Pretty pleased, especially as the shadow part of the moon is showing some details. I have no idea what the F 5.6 etc is or does, so just playing about if anything

Kain

[geppetto]

Now your just showing off

Beautiful 8)

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

What Phil said.

The earthshine shots are hard to get, you're doing great with those Kain.

Captain Chaos

[SteelRat]

Great stuff there Kain. Like em 8)

[Caz]

Your experiments are paying off!

Caz

[Andrew*]

the f/# is quite irrelevant in this case. A higher number means you're getting less exposure, so you'll need a longer shutter speed. Generally, keep the f/# as low as pos to minimise shutter lengths. high f/#s are useful for landscapes and suchlike where you need the foreground and the background in focus, but that's photography - not astrophotography!!

I'm really loving these earthshine pics. good alternative moon images.

A

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

Camerawise the f/ number has a subtle effect with afocal subjects. A higher f/ number makes the focus of the camera less critical but has the effect of needing a longer exposure time. Its definitely swings and roundabouts time because you will want to have a high f/ number to make the focus less critical and have a fast shutter speed to reduce trailing of the stars. To get the correct exposure you have to trade one against the other until you find what works best for you.

High magnifications with a Dob means that stuff is moving faster in the FOV so you need to aim for the shortest exposure that you can manage. That means a low f/ number would be advantageous, but that makes the focus very critical.

It's a balance that's required between ease of focus and fast shutter speed to reduce the trail effect caused by the stars all moving with respect to the observer.

Looks like you're getting there Kain, you've already passed the doing the impossible bit as DSOs need a mount that tracks the stars. Keep at it and your images will get better as you find the right settings.

HTH

Captain Chaos

[MartinB]

Great shots Kain. Wait a couple of days and get some more images exposed for the illuminated moon. Then you can combine the 2. The new moon will have waxed enough to cover up the earthshine near the terminator which has been affected by the overexposed moon so you can get a nice sharp transition. Starman (Pete Lawrence) posted a great example a few months back.