Above~ 2X Powermate on a Nikon 5100. 1/100 sec., ISO 200, f4.8 731mm ES Comet Hunter. Moon was 6 days 4hrs. [click to enlarge]
Friday, May 6, 2022~ 8:45 – 10:10 pm.
Location~ Moosehorn Creek, NB
Sky Conditions~ Mainly clear
Temp~ 8° 43% humidity
Moonrise~ 9:47 am
Sunset~ 8:36 pm
Total Darkness~ 10:40pm
Age of Moon~ 6d 3h 18m
Moon is now at 30% illumination.
6 Day Moon and a return to astrophotography~
First look with the 10mm eyepiece–big on the WOW factor. Rupes Altai is now totally visible of course (as compared to yesterday) but still noticeable due to the illuminated “white” side of the ridge. But the biggest, most eye-popping feature is the crater Theophilus to the right (wrong reading) of Mare Nectaris.
The view was so dramatic I decided I had to try and get an image. This would mark my return to prime focus astrophotography. It had been so long since I did this it took me 3/4 hr trying different configurations with focus rings and so on (because of course I never wrote it down). When I was done and went back to the eyepiece, the scene wasn’t quite as dramatic, the light had changed that much. Of course, no photo can ever match the experience of looking through the eyepiece (looking at the image later I wasn’t happy with the focus, but used it anyway for the record).
I saw the “dumbbell” set of craters–Catharina and Cyrillus–as mentioned in John Read’s book 50 Things to see on the Moon.
It was getting cold, so I went in for a closer look at this formation with a 6mm Delos, then a 4.7 Ethos and finally a 3.7. Rather astounding detail.
Shut it down 10:10.
Summary~
Moon at 6d 3h 18m at 73 magnification (10mm)
Rupes Altai at 73 magnification
Theophilus at 73 magnification
Catharina and Cyrillus at 73, 122, 155, & 197 magnifications
Scope– ES Comet Hunter – 152mm f/4.8 731mm Maksutov-Newtonian
Mount– Celestron AVX
Eyepieces used– 10mm Ethos, 6mm Delos, 4.7 Ethos, 3.7 Ethos
Music~
Bach: Suites N1 and N3
Jeanne Lamon and the Tafelmusik Orchestra – Bach: Orchestral Suites, Vol. 1
It had been quite a while since I had listened to this. Was nice to revisit.
Sources~
New Atlas of the Moon by Thierry Legault & Serge Brunier [2006]. Beautiful Firefly reference book with overlays, unfortunately out of print.
50 Things to See on the Moon~ by John A. Read.
Sky and Telescope’s Field Map of the Moon~Mirror image laminated fold out map. I use this all the time, handy.
The PhotoPills App~ Exact time and age of the Lunar Cycle, sunset, twilight phase info for our gps location, etc. Great app.
