Observing conditions last night weren’t very good, but that didn’t dissuade me from snapping a few images.
The above shot centers upon the Sea of Serenity (left) and the Sea of Tranquility (right).
These images were taken afocally with my 10″ Dobsonian, 13mm Nagler T6, Canon 20D & 50mm prime.
Below: the Sea of Nectar is visible just […]

On certain nights
When the angles are right
And the Moon is a slender crescent
It’s circle shows
In a ghostly glow
Of Earthly luminescence
– Rush
The 3.5-day-old Moon lingers above the trees in my backyard.
Canon 20D w/50mm prime, F/4, 4″ exposure.

Here’s a sequence of images taken yesterday evening. The view along the terminator was marvelous, and the atmospheric conditions on the cooperative side.

One of the things I adore about lunar observing: the apperance of surface features changes regularly due to lunar phase and libration. Slightly different shadowing can add an entirely new dimension to craters […]

11 January 2006
10:40 PM CST
95% waxing gibbous Moon
Orion XT10i & TeleVue 35mm Panoptic
Canon 20D and 17-40mm f/4L @ 40mm, f/7.1, 1/160″ ISO-100 Eyepiece projection
The above image was taken just prior to zenith transit. About ten minutes later I was treated to a gorgeous lunar halo, which was a challenge to frame even pulling back to […]

Image Details:

11 January 2006
2:51 AM CST
91% waxing gibbous Moon
Orion XT10i & TeleVue 35mm Panoptic
Canon 20D and 17-40mm f/4L @ 40mm, f/5.6, 1/125″ ISO-100
Eyepiece projection
Can’t help but wonder what I could muster with a rig actually designed for astrophotography.
Anyone want to donate an apochromatic refractor?

Tonight’s observing session was short-lived due to poor seeing and gusty winds, despite excellent atmospheric transparency. Regardless, I still seized the opportunity to grab a couple of afocal lunar shots. 10″ dobsonian and Canon 20D w/50mm prime.

f/2, 1/30″, ISO 100

f/2, 1/60″, ISO 100
Addendum: in my zeal to post the images, I only included EXIF data […]

The more time I spend observing the Moon, the more fascinated I become with lunar geology and surface features. For being a rather barren place it sure has a great deal to offer. Here’s a recent series of afocal photos taken with a Canon 20D and powered by my venerable 10″ dobsonian. .

Langrenus, […]