Image Links | |
Published image | Full resolution |
Annotated image | Full resolution |
Target Information | |
Main Target Designation(s) | Rima Hyginus and Rima Ariadaeus |
Companion Objects | Reinhold, Hortensius, Milichius, Gay-Lussac, Fauth, Stadius |
Acquisition | |
Date(s) of acquisition | 20Sep2018 |
Location | Definance, MO |
Moon Phase | 76.9% |
Capture resolution | 1936 x 1216 |
Red (also as Luminance) | |
Total capture | 9282 x 18.95ms at 50% gain |
Stack source | 1856 (20%) of 180" video at 51 fps (avg) |
Green | |
Total capture | 7290 x 24.63ms at 50% gain |
Stack source | 1458 (20%) of 180" video at 40 fps (avg) |
Blue | |
Total capture | 6965 x 25.79ms at 50% gain |
Stack source | 1393 (20%) of 180" video at 38 fps (avg) |
Equipment | |
Imager | ZWO ASI174MM |
Filters | ZWO 1.25" RGB |
Telescope/Lens | Celestron C14 XLT SCT |
Magnifiers | Tele Vue 2x Powermate |
Effective Focal Length | 7820mm (f/22) |
Correctors | ZWO Atmospheric Dispersion Corrector |
Mount | Celestron CGE Pro |
Focuser | Moonlite 2.5" CSL |
Software | |
Acquisition | FireCapture 2.5 |
Guiding | None |
Processing | AutoStakkert 3, PixInsight 1.8, Photoshop CC |
One of the most prominent craters on our side of the moon is Copernicus, a grand 93km (53mi) impact remnant sitting in a largely flat area of the western side of the lunar face. I've imaged this area in detail before, but then with my trusty 8" Newtonian scope. Here, we've taken full advantage of the 14" aperture on the C14 along with the added focal length to squeeze out some remarkably fine detail in this area, uncovering more than we may have noticed otherwise!
Copernicus' ray traces (spray from the original impact) are usually very noticeable from wider views. In this magnified view, we instead can focus on the subtle variations they produce in the flat areas around the crater, giving slight variations between blue and rusty hues in this RGB image. Scattered about are various deep craters, such as the 12km (7mi) bowl Fauth and the 15km (9mi) companion Hortensius. A remarkable ghost crater, Stadius, also makes a dim appearance. This crater once was a full bowl as the others in this image, but was subsequently filled with the lava flows associated with the nearby Mare Insularum.
Though this is a relatively colorless area, the RGB composite nonetheless brings some life to the surface here, where the large domination of blue tones indicates the titanium-rich composition of the surface. Usage of the red filter image as luminance helped sharpen up the image. As the local atmospheric conditions were sub-par on this night, the longer wavelength captured by the red filter helped "beat" the waviness of the sky and presents this fascinating area to greater detail.