The Moon is the brightest object in the night sky and it gives plenty of opportunities for you to observe or capture an impressive view of this other world with a camera. It is often believed that the best time to image the Moon is during a full moon, but this is not the case as the brightness washes out the details of craters and other features. The full Moon is a good time to familiarise yourself with the location of the lunar ‘seas’ or maria, as these darker areas are still prominent and always a useful starting point to help you navigate around the lunar surface. Some of the younger Copernican craters emanate rays and shine brightly, these craters outshine the illumination of a full moon and can also be seen on the surface.
The phases of the Moon wax and wane over a 29.5-day cycle and during this period they produce outstanding opportunities to capture features as they present themselves over the cycle. Whether you want long range widescreen shots or detailed surface views, picking the right time is crucial. If you are high-resolution imaging, you will need to plan your imaging session by the phase and position of the Moon, as it is important to know the time when the Moon is due south and at the highest point in the sky. This will give you better-detailed shots of the surface as there is less atmosphere to penetrate. When using a DSLR camera for a more widescreen photo, the position in the sky needs to be considered to create the perfect image. You need to plan landmarks in the foreground for the lunar shot or nearby houses or trees may restrict your current viewing area. These are some of the reasons why it is useful to know the position of the Moon in the sky. One of the best ways to plan your session is to use a planetarium software program or phone app; these will show you the moonrise times, phase and position of the Moon in the sky at any given time to allow you to plan the session. There are many planetarium software programs available for different operating platforms, a popular one for the PC is Stellarium, and for mobile phones Sky Safari but as there are so many options it is worth trying different ones to find the right one for you.
It is important to know the phase when viewing or imaging close surface features, as it is generally better to capture an image near the dark shadow of the terminator line to expose crater details and other features which can easily be hidden by the glaring light of a full moon. The terminator is the boundary between the light and dark sections of a lunar phase, and if your main aim is to capture fine surface details, it is better to target just to the side of this terminator line. In this area, the intensity of light is not too high, and the Sun is low enough to cast shadows over the lunar landscape, the combination of the lower intensity light and shadows allows features to reveal themselves in more exquisite detail. Once the Sun fully illuminates the lunar surface, it is much harder to capture the fine detail due to the glare, although an excellent widefield DSLR full moon shot is still easily achievable. The photo opposite shows how the terminator line enhances an image; the large crater on the left is Copernicus which shows the shadow cast by the low Sun with the tips of the three central peaks emerging.
You will require a long focal length to achieve excellent resolution of fine lunar detail, but an image is not always about detail and resolution. You do not necessarily need highend equipment to photograph the Moon as you can quite easily use a handheld camera; some of the modern bridge cameras, such as the Nikon P1000, has a powerful zoom to spot features on the Moon, although the image is lower resolution than a similar focal length telescope. Handheld cameras with short focal lengths can be easily used for landscape shots, especially if the Moon is showing during the day. Handheld cameras are an excellent place to start for a beginner as they will provide experience in understanding settings on the camera, and the movement and phases of the Moon, all of which are essential for high focal length photography. You should start with short focal length photography and progress to long focal length imaging equipment as you gain more experience.
Mobile phones are becoming an increasingly popular way of taking pictures through the eyepiece of a telescope, as it is a convenient and cheap way to start imaging and you do not need to buy another camera. Special adapters can be purchased to hold the mobile phone in place to take the image.
An increase in focal length will increase the resolution of close-up surface detail and there are different ways of increasing the focal length depending on the equipment. This is achieved by using a high-powered lens or attaching the camera to a telescope. Note that if you want to increase the focal length high enough to take close-up images of the surface, you will need more specialised equipment, such as a tracking mount to counteract the Earth’s rotation, which is a further expense. The sensor dimensions, optics, focal length and aperture all play a part in the type of image you want to capture.
We will proceed by looking at some regular pieces of equipment which you can use for imaging the Moon. It is also worth considering at this stage about the type of lunar image you want to capture as this will determine the type of equipment you will need. This section provides a brief overview of various pieces of imaging equipment and the kind of image to expect from different combinations of lenses and telescopes and each combination has its rightful place. We will start by looking at DSLR lunar photography, followed by smartphone photography and the use of high frame rate cameras.
Skymax PRO 180, ZWO
ASI224MC camera.
