Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Aug 2, 2004 2:01:35 GMT -6
Moon rise and Images of 01 August 2004
Still itching to see the moon rise since yesterdays full moon, I ventured out toward lakeside this wonderfully warm Summer evening to catch the moon rise over Lake Michigan. Parking was a bit sticky, but I persevered and got me a good one.
I trudged toward the Planetarium, gear in tow, both hands carrying the necessities for the evening. I set up behind the planetarium, in a cloistered area between two squat trees. Moon rise was timed for 9:18 pm, so I had plenty of time to set up and get comfortable.
With a few minutes to go for moon rise, I started to scan the edge of the world where it falls off, with an educated guess on where I thought it would rise. And right on time, the limb of the moon peeked over the horizon, very close to where I figured. I targeted it in the scope, and attempted to image it with the camera, but it was still much too dim to capture. So I studied it for a while in the eyepiece. A beautiful blood red Moon presented itself to me, and as there were groups of clouds, it peeked from behind and gave a eerie feeling to it. At times it would illuminate the clouds from behind, giving the edges an orange glow.
It finally got bright enough to image, and this was the first of many that I took this evening...
The digital camera doesn't capture the finesse of the lunar spectacle. But I had noticed that as the color would change I had to readjust the focuser to get a sharp image. The changing wavelengths were playing havoc on my imaging efforts.
A few short minutes later, as the moon was getting higher and brighter, more detail was becoming visible and imaging easier. It was now more greenish, leaving the red spectrum and heading toward full color now.
At times the moon was completely obscured by clouds, but the light from it was still visible as a distant glowing isolated spotlight, focused on an exact point on the distant lake waters. I attempted to capture this sight, but was not able to. It was quite a sight.
Now the moon was reaching it's natural color now and attaining shades of grey...(That's a lyric from a Monkees song).
And now, the Moon was standing proud, amongst the clouds and shining upon the glistening Lake.
It was indeed a pleasant way to spend a warm summer night. I met new people who came up to ask and take a peek. But as 11:00 pm rolled around, I gathered up my equipment and headed off to the Chevelle, as the park would be closing soon.
Also...I met an interesting couple who left me amazed and members of the Chicago Astronomer Forum stopped by to say hello. Please see the "Photo Galleries" section of this Forum for pics and story.
