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The moon is
an easy object to find in the sky, but getting good images can be a challenge.
First the moon is very bright and CCD chips are very sensitive, so it is
very easy to over expose when taking images. I use an Orion Moon
filter to help reduce the light intensity. Second, when you image
the Moon, you normally want to capture surface detail. This means
using longer focal lengths, so focusing can be very critical for the sharpest
detail. Another challenge to over come is that the brightness
of the Moon vary considerably over it surface. Exposures which bring
out detail in the shadows will often completely over expose the highlights.
Another popular photographic event associated with the Moon is lunar conjunctions or appulses. The Moon is the closest object to the Earth of any natural body. As a result it often comes very near to or passes in front of a bright star or bright planet. You can take pictures of these events by just aiming your camera at the Moon and expose for 1-5 minutes. Another nice event in a lunar eclipse. This occurs when the Moon passes through the shadow of the Earth cast by the Sun. In Jan 2019 this happened and I was able to get a picture with both a telephoto lens and a wide angle lens. The telephoto picture shows what a "Blood" Moon looks like and the wide angle shows how dark the surroundings become when the Moon goes into the shadow completly. |
