My first images of the Moon

[Carole]

I know these are pretty crappy but at least I'm giving it a go.
After pulling my hair out with the software (see my posting under Imaging session), I eventually got it to work again.  I can't yet work out how to stack an image that is bigger than the frame, so have extracted a single image of each.




Carole

[Carole]

Why have the images come out so small?

Carole

[MarkS]

They're small because you posted the thumbnails instead if the full-size pics.  I've added new links below. Remember, these are only single frames from your AVI - single frames never look impressive - they tend to look quite "grainy".  You've persevered a long time to get these - well done.

If you now use Registax or similar to stack multiple frames together you will end up with much cleaner and sharper images.

[Carole]

Thanks Mark, I'll give Registax a go as soon as I get some free time.

No idea how I posted thumbnails, as far as I know they were the full sized ones which I posted on the Gallery. Unless there is a thumbnail version on the gallery I was unaware of.

All these things to watch out for!!

How do you manage to get the whole of the visible part of the Moon in the frame?  I find the magnification (on Webcam only with no barlow) still too big to get anything more in the frame than what I have taken above.

Carole

[MarkS]

To get the whole moon in the frame I use my Canon digital SLR camera - the sensor size on the Canon is huge compared with the webcam.

[Mike]

You would need a scope with a much wider FOV to do that or a camera with a larger chip. You can always produce a mosaic and then stitch them together into a full sized image. This is very easy to do with various pieces of free software that is available, plus Photoshop.

[Ian]

or you could accept that a webcam and an f14 scope will never give wide fields and try and find nice small details to image. Take a look at a lunar map and see if you can find and image interesting craters, rilles, shadows and so on. Tony Buick's book on the subject is in the OAS library.

[Carole]

You can always produce a mosaic and then stitch them together into a full sized image

Yes I was thinking about doing that as I am OK with photoshop.

Firstly though I will try to stack the images so that I get a better image.

find and image interesting craters, rilles, shadows

Yes, I'll probably do that as well as I am quite interested in the Moon's features having done both my GSCE projects on the Moon.


Carole

[Carole]

I've stacked the Moon images this evening with registax, and although no miracles, there is an improvement.
Mare Crisium/Tranquilitatis
Registax did something odd to the upper edge which left a fuzzy strip which I have cropped in the stacked version.

Single Frame

Stacked and cropped version


Northern image which I think shows a better improvement and shows craters Aristoteles with Eudoxus below (Centre bottom crater)

Single Frame

stacked version


I also stacked animage of the Southern region -40 degrees South, 20 degrees East showing craters Maurolycus, Barocius and Clairaut.

I took out a dust bunny on this one in photoshop.

Carole

[Mike]

The fuzzy edge is just where your polar alignment is off and the software has had to register each frame. Some parts of the frame will not be stacked due to the drift and will cause a 'fuzzy edge'.

[MarkS]

Carole - those are much better.  They're an excellent first attempt!

[Carole]

The fuzzy edge is just where your polar alignment is off

I won't argue the polar alignment being a bit off, as there was some drift.

However the fuzzy edge I am referring to was actually a straight lined box of fuzziness, it wasn't an area that gradually faded into fuzziness.  I'll see whether I still have the file with this fuzzy edge and show it to you tonight.

I am relieved to have finally got "something" however, and now I have to set about sorting the problems with my software and then finding out how to improve.  I don't think I will ever be an expert at this as reading all the tech stuff you guys talk about goes completely over my head.

See you later Mike.

Carole

[JohnP]

Carole - have you played with wavelet sliders in Registax - it may help sharpen them up - you need to be careful not to over do it. Start at the bottom (no6) & slowly increase..

Good first images - you must be chuffed...

John

[Mike]

Carole they are very good images. Far better than my first Moon images. Yes show the picture to me tonight and we'll find out what it was. We can also have a play with the Wavelet Sliders like John says and see if we can improve them.

[Carole]

Yes John, I did play with the wavelets, but started at the top rather than the bottom.  I moved the top one out to about 10, but if I moved any others by more than 1 or 2, or moved the top one out any further, the image became pretty horrid, so I made do with that.

I'll have the AVI files with me and Registax tonight, so perhaps we can have another go and I can learn further.

I have a horrible feeling that I might have "replaced" the image with the fuzzy edge but, but we will have a look tonight (might even be able to recreate it).

Thanks for your nice comments every-one.

Carole