For the first time in about two weeks I finally managed an observation of Jupiter as it meandered into the south west. This really was an awkward observation though. What makes things difficult is that my view from the south east to the south west is blocked by several tall buildings, so for around ten minutes Jupiter disappeared from view behind one of them. I moved my position more than once to try and get a better view. Finally Jupiter reappeared and I managed around ten minutes of viewing before the clouds blanketed the western sky.
I made the following render in Photoshop of my observation. The moons from left to right are Ganymede, Io and Europa. For some bizarre reason I never observed Callisto, which should have been within another 10 arc minutes or so to the left of Ganymede. Trying to find an optimum viewing position possibly distracted me - either way, it was nice to see the giant king of the solar system again.
The waning gibbous moon was also on show later on that evening, rising gracefully out of the eastern horizon. This really is the best time to observe and photograph the moon with it’s black terminator, debossed shadowy craters and sublime surface detail.
I captured two Afocal images through the Pentax Optio last night. The first one required a little smart sharpening in Photoshop, but even without this the level and clarity of detail is excellent. The second one is also a good shot, but it lacks the clean focus of the first capture and required a harder level of sharpening. These two images for me, are the best Afocal photographs I have taken to date. Just shows what you can achieve with a simple digital camera.
Tags: Afocal Photography, Callisto, Europa, Ganymede, Io, Jupiter, Moon, Photoshop, Strathspey 25x100
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At about 11:00pm last night (17.09.08) the cloud cover finally abated at last and a large patch of clear sky was visible, albeit for half an hour. This gave me just enough time to get the tripod, my 25×100 bins and my Pentax Optio S50 digital camera set-up for a short photography session.
The seeing was quite good but the sky transparency as usual left a lot to be desired. From the crop of Afocal shots that I managed, the one above is by far the best. With the addition of some post processing in Photoshop, I managed to enhance the image so that surface detail is far more visible.
As can be seen, the Mare Crisium has almost vanished from view while the ray craters’ Tycho, Copernicus, Kepler and Aristarchus are less pronounced but still observable. Visible to the east of Tycho are the prominent craters Maurolycus and Barocius while further east still can be seen Janssen, Fabricius and Metius. Traveling in the opposite direction to the western limb of the moon, the basin crater Grimaldi can easily be seen just below the vast expanse that is the Oceanus Procellarum.
While this image has a degree of depth to it, it’s not the best I have taken thus far. Imaging will definitely be at it’s most interesting as the moon enters it’s last quarter and crescent phase. As ever though, my observing sessions are becoming less and less as the British weather seems locked in a perpetual state of low pressure. Decent observing conditions are become a rare thing so hopefully there will be some good clear nights coming my way very shortly . . .
Tags: Afocal Photography, Moon, Photoshop, Strathspey 25x100
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Following on the back of my lunar photography session on Saturday night, I had pinned my hopes on getting some clear skies here for the Harvest Moon on Monday evening. Sadly it was not to be - the weather was a complete washout and has stayed the same pretty much ever since. Rain, rain, rain and rain. It’s just so disappointing.
There is another occluded pressure front pushing up from the south, so Wednesday evening might present an opportunity for some more lunar observation/photography if the cloud breaks up. Unfortunately, the Harvest Moon will have to wait for another year.
Tags: Afocal Photography, Harvest Moon, Moon
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At about half past eleven on Saturday night my patience was rewarded with a clear sky and an almost full moon - so the Met Offices’ forecast was spot on. The sky transparency wasn’t that great, but I knew that this was as good as it was going to get. Without hesitation I set-up the tripod and mounted the 25×100 bins. The seeing wasn’t too bad, but after nearly a week with no clear skies, I wasn’t about to complain.
With the moon in the field of view I promptly set about taking pictures through my Pentax Optio S50 digital camera. Having never done any kind of Afocal photography before, I really was winging it. I took a good many shots, the bulk of which really weren’t worth processing. From the whole session, I produced two reasonably decent shots which I then post processed in Photoshop.
This scaled up image has to be my favorite. The ray craters Tycho, Copernicus, Kepler and Aristarchus are all clearly visible as are the Mare Imbrium, Nubium, Serenitatis, Tranquillitatis, Nectaris, Foecunditatis, Crisium and Humorum. West from Tycho, the crater Schiller can be picked out as can the crater Schickard a little further north.
The second shot has a wider field and is a little bit sharper than the first one purely because it was processed and output at it’s original size. As I have discovered, taking pictures near a full moon is not the best time to try and capture images. Surface detail is at a minimum and the brightness is almost overwhelming.
All in all, for a first time I’m particularly pleased with these two Afocal images. If I get even a partially clear sky on Monday evening then I should be able to get some good shots of the Harvest Moon. The Met Office forecast doesn’t look promising but I’m hoping my luck will hold out.
Tags: Afocal Photography, Harvest Moon, Moon, Photoshop
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