I have been trying my hand at a bit of astrophotography, mating my K-7 to my Meade LX90, which functions as a 2000mm ƒ/10 lens.

Here is a composite of the moon taken from about 6-8 frames.

It's possible I was a bit too aggressive with the tone mapping, but I wanted to bring out a bit of the detail in the lunar surface.

I have a ways to go yet on collimating the optics, minimizing vibrations and really nailing the focus!

[Spock]

Nice! I'm guessing your telesope inverts the image (as the moon is upside down compared to a shot I took last night).

Last night I stepped out of my back door to feed the dog his dinner and spotted the moon through a break in the (fast moving) clouds. I had just enough time to fit my DA*200 lens plus 1.7xAF adaptor to my K10D and snap off a few shots before the clouds rolled in. Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to set up my tripod - but not bad for hand held I think!
(I waited in vain for another break in the clouds but it didn't clear up until the moon dropped out of sight behind trees and houses - typical!)

1/320s, F4.5 (effective-with 1.7xadaptor), iso100

[WiseOx]

Cool, never thought of this before. I don't think it's the telescope inverting the shot......you two gents have very different perspectives....given your geography.

Great shots btw.

[Sparkle]

That is because you are on opposite sides of the equator.

[Spock]

That is because you are on opposite sides of the equator.

Seriously? I know all the jokes about 'downunder' but is the sky really upside down in the southern hemisphere? I hadn't ever thought about it before...

I do know for a fact that most telescopes do give an upside down image though.

[Sparkle]

Check it out on Google, if you doubt it.

[akanarya]

nice capture,

it says that if you wanted a good pic of the moon, you need a telescope.

[Spock]

Check it out on Google, if you doubt it.

You're right of course - from a New Zealand astronomy website:

Why is the Moon in the Northern Hemisphere upside down from how it looks here in the Southern Hemisphere?:
The Moon orbits near the equator of the Earth. In the southern hemisphere, we're standing on the opposite side of the globe from the "northerners", so we are "upside down" from each other! So we see the Moon from a completely different vantage point (ie "upside down"!). In fact, we in the southern hemisphere view most of the stars quite differently than from the northern hemisphere.

Makes sense now I think about it. You learn something new every day!

[tpg2]

Really, Really, Really nice shot of the moon!!!!
The detail is excellent!!
Tom

[JOSELAYA]

me encanta el detalle, bonita foto

[Spock]

Nowhere near as good as the OP's - but here is a better effort from me - I used a tripod this time! This is the best I can do until I get a telescope.
(btw - note how far the moon has waxed in 24 hours)

Image: K10D, DA*200/2.8 + 1.7xAF adaptor, 1/320, F5.6 (including adaptor multiplier), iso 100

[v5planet]

Exposure is much better on that second one Spock!

I also tried photographing Jupiter and its Galilean moons last night:




It's a bit trickier than the moon

[Spock]

Exposure is much better on that second one Spock!

I also tried photographing Jupiter and its Galilean moons last night:




It's a bit trickier than the moon

Wow! That's astounding! Great work!

[v5planet]

Went out again tonight. Bumped up the ISO and played with the focus more... I think I got more detail out of this.

[michaelsmp]

wow, great detail.