moon/mars pics

[serosang]

i tried taking pictures of mars- the moon with my nikon d50 but it didnt come out right when i'd go to brighten it up mars looked like there were 3 or out of focus instead of one lol so if anyone could help me figure out how to do that better i'd apperciate it....i have a nikon d50 camera...these pics are what i've taken so far tell me what you think

 

[Saiph]

The moon pictures look fine actually. The last though, is obviously overexposed, whatever it's supposed to be. Shorter exposure time is the place to start there.

Sadly, I'm not much of an astrophotography expert, and what I do know is very rusty (haven't tried in years.)

 

[MeteorWayne]

Yes, I agree, the moon pix are good. Mars is not very bright right now, so will be a difficult target. Was the moon the bright object in that field of view? You will never be able to capture a near full moon and Mars in the same image exposure. The blue light looks like an internal lens reflection.

 

[serosang]

Yes, I agree, the moon pix are good. Mars is not very bright right now, so will be a difficult target. Was the moon the bright object in that field of view? You will never be able to capture a near full moon and Mars in the same image exposure. The blue light looks like an internal lens reflection.

yhea when i tried to focus on mars it wouldnt go and if i tried a differnt camera seting it wouldnt show up at all; the moon pictures were easy i guess cause its bigger/brighter then everything else in the sky...im trying to figure out why when i take star pics they show up all screwy like this

 

[Mee_n_Mac]

yhea when i tried to focus on mars it wouldnt go and if i tried a differnt camera seting it wouldnt show up at all; the moon pictures were easy i guess cause its bigger/brighter then everything else in the sky...im trying to figure out why when i take star pics they show up all screwy like this

1) The pics above look hand held. The exposure was long enough your unsteady hand moved the camera aim all over the place (relatively speaking). You need to decrease the shutter time by opening up the aperture amd/or increasing the sensitivity (ISO speed). Alternately use a tripod. Try to use a remote release or your camera's timer (if it has one) to avoid having your finger (depressing the shutter) moving the camera and/or the mirror slap (if it's a DSLR) moving it about.

2)You probably should set the focus to manual and then the distance to infinity.

3) Set the exposure controls to manual and experiment with the settings to get what looks best. Or set the exposure/metering to spot (uses only the center section and put the planet in the dead center. Cameras get confused with so little but bright light in a relative sea of really black darkness.

4) Lastly when you have the above correct you'll still get star trails due to exposures longer than 20+ seconds (depending on focal length). Sometimes this is a kewl effect.

 

[serosang]

oh ok yhea i used a tripod when i took these a few minutes ago trying to figure out what it is lol

 

[Fallingstar1971]

very nice.....

OOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Whats this that I spy with my little eye.........

The elusive Mercury perhaps?



Star

 

[serosang]

very nice.....



Star

but idk what it is?

 

[Fallingstar1971]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

 

[serosang]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

yeah directly west i didnt even see the 2nd one all i saw was the highest one; that means im still missing saturn why cant i seem to find it?

 

[Fallingstar1971]

Well, first it needs to be a little darker out then it was, then, you need to turn around. Saturn will be rising in the east, its current location is the constellation Virgo.

Looking due east at 7:52

Star

 

[serosang]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

will it be about the same color as the other two? and i saw on one of the sky-chart sites that the moon will be close to saturn tommorow round midnight (kinda like it was for mars?)

 

[Fallingstar1971]

Yeah, the brighter blob nearer to the horizon is starry nights rendition of the moon. Saturn is just above it, which means that the moon will wash out the sky with brightness. Good news however, is that if Saturn is visible through that, it will likely be the only thing visible other than the moon in that part of the sky at that time.

Alternatively, that was taken for 7:50. If you time it right you may be able to image Saturn right before the moon rises.

Star

 

[serosang]

Yeah, the brighter blob nearer to the horizon is starry nights rendition of the moon. Saturn is just above it, which means that the moon will wash out the sky with brightness. Good news however, is that if Saturn is visible through that, it will likely be the only thing visible other than the moon in that part of the sky at that time.

Alternatively, that was taken for 7:50. If you time it right you may be able to image Saturn right before the moon rises.

Star

so basicly i had my back to saturn the entire time?

 

[Fallingstar1971]

Yup. I would say that would be the case.

Its OK though, Im sure Saturn didnt mind, and now, you know where to look

Saturn wont be as brite, and its a creamy white color.

Star

 

[serosang]

Yup. I would say that would be the case.

Its OK though, Im sure Saturn didnt mind, and now, you know where to look

Saturn wont be as brite, and its a creamy white color.

Star

but i'll see it as the moon comes up?

 

[MeteorWayne]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

yeah directly west i didnt even see the 2nd one all i saw was the highest one; that means im still missing saturn why cant i seem to find it?

Because you didn't listen to me. Around sunset, Saturn is rising in the east, the opposite horizon from where Venus and Mercury are setting.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

will it be about the same color as the other two? and i saw on one of the sky-chart sites that the moon will be close to saturn tommorow round midnight (kinda like it was for mars?)

I also told you that in the PM I sent to you.

 

[serosang]

Venus and Mercury would be my guess. It just "looks" right. Your looking West I presume?

Star

will it be about the same color as the other two? and i saw on one of the sky-chart sites that the moon will be close to saturn tommorow round midnight (kinda like it was for mars?)

I also told you that in the PM I sent to you.

ok so i've gotten mars,mercury/venus....and will try to get saturn tonight....what about the others and from what you said in another post meteor i'll have a better shot at mercury/venus by what friday??

i know its a long way off but is it possible to take pictures of the lyrids meteor shower?

 

[serosang]

Yup. I would say that would be the case.

Its OK though, Im sure Saturn didnt mind, and now, you know where to look

Saturn wont be as brite, and its a creamy white color.

Star

is this saturn?

 

[MeteorWayne]

It could be, but with the full moon in the image, and not knowing the exposure or the lens settings it's impossible to say.

 

[serosang]

It could be, but with the full moon in the image, and not knowing the exposure or the lens settings it's impossible to say.

what do you mean? it was in the right area and everything else was bloted out by moonlight?

 

[MeteorWayne]

No, I mean 3 things.

1. What time and date was it taken?

2. What was the exposure time and lens (to determine if the relatively faint Saturn could be captured in the image with the exposure and f-stop used).

3. In order to determine how far away Saturn would appear from the moon at the date and time in step 1 above, we need to know the size in mm of the lens used, magnification, if any, or field of view of the image.

 

[serosang]

No, I mean 3 things.

1. What time and date was it taken?

2. What was the exposure time and lens (to determine if the relatively faint Saturn could be captured in the image with the exposure and f-stop used).

3. In order to determine how far away Saturn would appear from the moon at the date and time in step 1 above, we need to know the size in mm of the lens used, magnification, if any, or field of view of the image.

1.around 10;30-9 pm at night; why did you guys not ask me this stuff for the other 2?

 

[MeteorWayne]

Duh..because in the west after sunset without the moon in the sky, there's no doubt about Venus and Mercury.

Your Mars pictures (with the moon in the image) were worthless, so needed no analysis.

That's why I suspect the Saturn image is no good as well.

What the heck does "around 10;30-9 pm at night" mean? Whast day? If you want your images to be useful you must note the date and time they were taken, with what lens, what shutter speed and f-stop, etc, especially with a relatively dim object next to a full moon. If it's in a dark sky, where the stars of the surrounding constellations can be discerned, that wouldn't be an issue.

The blueish color of what you think is Saturn also makes me suspicious it is an artifact, since Saturn is a bit more yellow than the moon.