Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25, and 26 (Full) 2021

Lets brighten up peoples live with all those lovely pictures of the world around us!

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Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25, and 26 (Full) 2021

Post by Astrophil »

Hi All,

I’ve just acquired an old Maksutov (89 mm) telescope and as a test I turned it towards the Moon. Using a color Grasshopper GX camera with a 2x Barlow, here is a 6 panel mosaic taken February 23rd.

Taking highly saturated color shots of the Moon has proven to be challenging. Color balance and consistency across the lunar surface still eludes me and this camera. Shadows near the terminator shift to blues. A full moon should be better for color, we’ll see.

Phil
20210223_Color_Moon_6 images.jpg
20210223_Color_Moon_6 images.jpg (1.38 MiB) Viewed 781 times

I've added a shot from the 24th that I think is much better. This time the shadows were not lightened and the color was retained. Color balance in the camera might have been set more accurately as well. I'm still thinking that the full moon will show the best colors
20210224_color_moon.jpg
20210224_color_moon.jpg (1.8 MiB) Viewed 767 times
Last edited by Astrophil on Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.


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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24 2021

Post by Montana »

Wow!! done!! these are quite stunning :bow :hamster:

This is still something on my to do list :)

Alexandra


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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24 2021

Post by rsfoto »

Hi Phil,

Well done. Now the next step is to analyze what means each colour in regard to soil composition. ;)


regards Rainer

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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24 2021

Post by Astrophil »

Thank you Alexandra. I have always shot the Moon with monochrome cameras but thanks to Stu’s influential color moon images, I thought I’d give it a try. Color cameras are easier than calibrating filters and sensors but maybe not as accurate. About 15 years ago I did colorize a lunar image. It was panned by the critics.

sinus_iridum_cs_w.jpg
sinus_iridum_cs_w.jpg (110.18 KiB) Viewed 754 times

Rainer, interesting but the colors in my images might not be definitive. Iron and titanium maybe, aluminum and others not so much. I ran across this NASA image and boosted the saturation.
151_colormap.jpg
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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24 2021

Post by Carbon60 »

Superb images, Phil; nice and crisp. I find getting the ‘correct’ colour quite a challenge- what’s correct’ anyhow? It changes with Sun angle and the location of the moon in the sky. Mine often come out looking too brown, for my taste anyhow.

Your coloured close-up looks remarkable. Maybe a bit too Earth-like for the critics.

As for ‘soil analysis’ remember someone somewhere on the net posting a series of monochrome images taken through specific filters right across the spectrum to try to identify particular lunar minerals. I think it was quite a challenge to obtain a match to known lunar geology.

Stu.


H-alpha, WL and Ca II K imaging kit for various image scales.
Fluxgate Magnetometers (1s and 150s Cadence).
Radio meteor detector.
More images at http://www.flickr.com/photos/solarcarbon60/
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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25 2021

Post by Astrophil »

Thanks Stu. I tend to agree that "correct color" is challenging and may be in the eyes of the observer. I spent time adjusting the blue and red gains on the camera and tried to find something at least pleasing. Very sensitive when saturation is boosted so high in processing.

Here is another image taken on the 25th as full moon approaches.

Phil
20210225_231436_Final.jpg
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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25 2021

Post by JochenM »

Fantastic results, Phil. Probably one of the best colour moons I've seen!

It's one of those things that's also on my to-do list; but I never seem to get around to.


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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25, and 26 (Full) 2021

Post by Astrophil »

Finally a full moon and clear skies to image. Just waiting for the Moon to clear the trees. I was ready, having set the camera’s blue and red gains on the previous night when the moon was high overhead, I thought the color balance would be close but the first shot was completely yellow. The histogram revealed not enough blue. This was understandable since the moon was only about 25° above the horizon, but it looked white to my eyes. Watching the histogram over the next few minutes I saw a substantial shift in colors. The Moon changes color constantly especially noticeable when saturating the colors to produce a colorful moon. While imaging through the atmosphere, the idea of “correct” or capturing the real colors of the moon is folly.

If you decide to try this I suggest looking at the histogram and adjust the red, green, and blue so they line up on the right (bright side) of the graph. This is a good starting point. Don’t overexpose and use a neutral gamma setting to start. If shooting a mosaic, shoot quickly so the colors don’t change much or wait until the moon is high overhead.

Making a colorful moon is fun and somewhat challenging but you can’t really get it wrong.

Here’s my “correct” and real moon colors image.

Phil
20210226_220055_Full_Moon_Color.jpg
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Re: Colorful Moon Feb. 23, 24, 25, and 26 (Full) 2021

Post by rsfoto »

Hi Phil,

Excellent image. I think the best position for shooting the Moon in colour is the zenith position.


regards Rainer

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