moles1138 suggested starting this thread when I asked this on another forum.
Anyone else catch the lunar eclipse this morning? I had a fairly clear shot till about 6:45. I’m sure the neighbors are quite used to the sight of me standing barefoot in the middle of the street in shorts and a tee, brushing my teeth and staring at the sky at 6 a.m.
As for liking the moon, a favorite of mine (and #2 son)
Sorry - I keep forgetting the entire world does not (always) revolve around the Washington DC area. I was out at 6 a.m. eastern. I feel for you if you were at work stuck behind a desk at that time.
Nice! Mind sharing your equipment details? I recently got a telescope for mai birfday, but need to get the rig to attach a camera…and then spend endless hours figuring out why I can’t make it work.
Nikon Coolpix S9300 with a 18x zoom. The closer pic is digital zoom. Didn’t even try to get out a tripod. Propped it against the window frame and the patio railing (outside for the last two pics).
I’ve had a Celestron C8 for 25 years. I don’t get it out as often as I should. It’s bulky. Never had success mounting a camera thru the scope. I piggybacked many times and with the motor drive I got some great long exposures. But nothing digital. Or I would share.
Good to know. I’ve not tried taking pics with anything ‘in between’–just my cell phone and the DSLR, not sure what lens I had on it. The pics are ok, but usually not very detailed.
Do you advise getting the motorized drive, or have you used it for anything other than long exposures?
(Sorry to derail…telescopes are about the moon, right?!?)
I think we can let it go and not consider this a derailment seeing how the opening post lapsed right into Spong Monkeys.
I also didn’t drag out the 'scope. Have one gathering dust but this was one of those “the alarm went off to go to work and oh yeah there’s an eclipse” mornings.
A drive will track (as long as it is aligned properly) the stars as the earth rotates. This is great if you’ve got a few people who want to look. Just keep their hands off the scope.
Cool trick: cover one eye (obviously the one you don’t want to use) instead of squinting so the viewing eye doesn’t try to squint too.
You could also invest in binoculars.
Much more portable and more likely to be used.
I’m not an expert, just an amateur. But I do look up every time I’m out at night.
I was out on my deck at 6:00 - oh yes, my Late Boyfriend used to call me “The Moon Goon.” I tried to take a picture, but didn’t have much time, and I don’t even know if it came out. I’ll see if I can find time to post it over the weekend. Thanks for sharing yours, they are awesome!
That reminds me, it’s time to make my secret family recipe cough syrup. I make it every year on the full moon in October. It has to “cure” for one year before it’s ready to use. For medicinal purposes only, it’s magically delicious!
a) too early for me to be awake
b) too cold for me to be outside
c) I knew I could see photos posted by someone somewhere that didn’t involve me getting up out of my nice warm bed and putting clothes on to go outside
I know the covering trick–use it for sighting on a rifle as well.
We picked up binoculars, and used them when we went to Cherry Springs State Park. It’s a ‘dark park’, and we camped overnight. Was either a full moon or super close, so awful viewing, but we did peek through some bigger telescopes provided by the Park Service.