1170 replies to this topic

[sunnyday]

Here are a few of my relatively recent iPhone afocal lunar photos.

1. July 10, 2019 featuring Rupes Recta (the Straight Wall)

 

2. July 10, 2019 featuring Mare Imbrium 

 

3. September 4, 2019 featuring Theophilus, Cyrillus, and Catharina

very nice 

[Dave Mitsky]

I'm still learning Lunar nomenclature. Could someone fill me in on what all these features are called in this area of the moon?

 

luna7.jpg

The large crater near the center is Plato.  The Alpine Valley lies to the left of Plato.  The large lunar "sea" is Mare Imbrium.

[R.Kelley]

The large crater near the center is Plato.  The Alpine Valley lies to the left of Plato.  The large lunar "sea" is Mare Imbrium.

Thanks! What about those isolated mountains in the top left of Mare Imbrium?

[AJK 547]

I'm still learning Lunar nomenclature. Could someone fill me in on what all these features are called in this area of the moon?

 

luna7.jpg

rkelley, does the attached image help you a bit in answering some of your questions?

 

I use the iPhone applet ‘Moon Globe’ to help me navigate (and plan) my lunar targets based on what day of the lunar cycle we are in.

 

Clear, steady nights.

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Edited by AJK 547, 12 February 2020 - 09:04 PM.

[R.Kelley]

rkelley, does the attached image help you a bit in answering some of your questions?

Yes! That answers all of them 

[R.Kelley]

For all the Lunatics, I got one of these as a Christmas present..

 

 

And here's one more Luna-pic, for your entertainment.  

 

 

Edited by rkelley8493, 12 February 2020 - 09:24 PM.

[Dave Mitsky]

I'm still learning Lunar nomenclature. Could someone fill me in on what all these features are called in this area of the moon?

 

luna7.jpg

The large crater that appears partially at the bottom left of your photo is Archimedes.  The isolated mountain peak close to Plato is called Mons Pico.  The two isolated, small and well-defined craters on the right portion of Mare Imbrium are Le Verrier and Hellicon.

[Dave Mitsky]

For all the Lunatics, I got one of these as a Christmas present..

 

moon lamp.jpg

 

And here's one more Luna-pic, for your entertainment.  

 

 

montes2.jpg

The two large craters in the sunlight at the upper left of your photograph are Aristoteles and Eudoxus.

[Tom Glenn]

The question of nomenclature comes up quite frequently.  There are a variety of (free) resources one can use to determine the answers to any questions.  One easy resource at your fingertips is the following website.  

 

https://quickmap.lroc.asu.edu

 

Zoom to anywhere on the lunar surface.  In the menu bar on the left, click on Layers, then Overlays, then Nomenclature, and you can find the name of anything that has an official name.  And that just scratches the surface of what this website can do.  

[grjsk]

Taken February 4th:

 

 

 

[John_Moore]

Thanks to all for the very nice comments, and mostly for contributing. The thread, really, was set up to create just ONE resource for phone shots of the Moon, and so keep 'em coming. Btw, they are some extraordinary shots here, so I don't know how you guys do it...amazing.

 

John

PS. Apologies to those whose photos I posted in the early part of the thread, as, apparently, I had broken one of CN's rules, so forgive me. It wasn't intentional.

Edited by John_Moore, 13 February 2020 - 06:01 AM.

[frank5817]

Many impressive smart phone/cell phone images here.

Nice idea John.

 

Frank

[AJK 547]

Cropped iPhone 8 Plus image of Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina with Torricelli peaking out from under the shadows...

 

C8-A + BHZ 

 

Clear, steady nights.

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Edited by AJK 547, 13 February 2020 - 01:57 PM.

[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a screen capture of Mare Imbrium (click to enlarge) from the LRO site.

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[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a hand-held afocal photo that I took on January 7, 2018, using an ancient iPhone 4s, a 6" f/8 Orion SkyQuest XT6 Dob, and an 8-24mm Baader Planetarium Hyperion Mark III zoom eyepiece (50 to 150x).  Ejecta rays from Tycho and Copernicus can easily be seen.

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[Dave Mitsky]

There's an article on ejecta rays posted at https://astronomy.co.../08/crater-rays

[jessebear]

I really don't have a clue when it comes to afocal or astrophotography in general, but I'm having fun learning.

 

[AJK 547]

I really don't have a clue when it comes to afocal or astrophotography in general, but I'm having fun learning.

 

Nice image Jesse!  What type of phone were you using?

 

 

Edited by AJK 547, 14 February 2020 - 09:07 PM.

[jessebear]

Nice image Jesse! What type of phone were you using?

Thank you! This was with a Google Pixel 3 (regular camera, not the astro mode). 10" dob, TV 32mm Plossl, Orion 13% moon filter.

I've played with the astro mode on Pixels and while it's very interesting for wide shots, I can never get my mount to track well enough for afocal images through a telescope.

[Dave Mitsky]

I was observing with the 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain at the Naylor Observatory on Friday night.  As the waning Moon began to rise and brighten the sky, I took some afocal photos with my iPhone 6s, a 38mm Agena SWA, and a 56mm Meade Series 4000 Super Plössl before closing up for the night.  Keep in mind that the Moon was still relatively low in the east at the time.
 

Here one of the ones that I took through the 38mm Agena SWA.  Lunar north is up.

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[Dave Mitsky]

Here's another showing Montes Appenninus, Eratosthenes, and Copernicus in the upper left and the large craters Albategnius, Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus, and Arzachel in the lower right.

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[Dave Mitsky]

Tycho (center left) and Clavius (lower left) can be seen in this resized image.  Maurolycus is the large crater on the terminator with the illuminated eastern crater rim.

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[Dave Mitsky]

Here's a shot that I took using the 56mm Meade eyepiece.

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[AJK 547]

Dave, those some really nice afocal images!  
 

Question:

1) What is the Bortle or SQM conditions the 17” Clas. Cat is used in (at Naylor)?

 

2) Would you say the 17” has a 1/4... 1/6th... 1/8th wave it better optical system?  

 

3) Have you performed a Null test on the optics?  

 

4) Finally, have you observed the Vallis Alpes rille (as truly a rille and not albedo) .... and if so, what was the mag. you believe you used?

 

Sorry for all the questions!  

 

Clear, steady nights.

Edited by AJK 547, 16 February 2020 - 01:46 PM.

[Dave Mitsky]

1) The Naylor Observatory has Bortle 5 skies, more or less, but light pollution has been getting progressively worse with each passing year.

 

https://www.cleardar....html?Mn=optics

 

2) I assume that the 17" classical Cassegrain has at least 1/8th wave optics.  It was built by Mike Dudley of D & G Optical back in the late 1980s I believe.

 

http://www.dgoptical.../cassegrain.htm

 

3) I have not and I don't know if one has ever been done.

 

4) I've tried to resolve the Vallis Alpes rille a number of times but have never been successful.