Amazing Sky by Alan Dyer

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Moonrise with Pleiades (Aug 25, 2024).jpg

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The waning last quarter Moon rises in conjunction with the Pleiades star cluster, aka Messier 45. here just having risen out of a band of clouds at the bottom of the frame that was just above the northeast horizon. The Moon was only 2 or 3 degrees above the horizon when I shot this.

This was the evening of August 25, 2024. Earthshine is just visible on the "dark side of the Moon." And yes, the sky really was this colour, as this field was so low and it was lit by moonlight reddened by atmospheric absorption.

Taken from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N.

Technical:
This is a blend of 10 exposures taken in quick succession, from 15 seconds for the stars and base sky, to as short as 1/30-second for the lunar disk, blended with Lights1 luminosity masks created with Lumenzia extension panel in Photoshop. The exposure blending results in an image that better resembles what the eye could see in the scene with such a high dynamic range in brightness.

The Canon R5 was at ISO 1600 and on the Astro-Tech 90CFT refractor telescope at f/4.8 for a focal length of 430mm. It was on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount tracking the sky at the sidereal rate. Thus the blurred clouds. Finishing-touch Orton-style glow and stellar diffraction spikes added with Nik Color EFX and AstronomyTools actions.
Copyright
© Alan Dyer/AmazingSky.com
Image Size
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www.amazingsky.com
Contained in galleries
Moon & Sun, Conjunctions, My Latest
The waning last quarter Moon rises in conjunction with the Pleiades star cluster, aka Messier 45. here just having risen out of a band of clouds at the bottom of the frame that was just above the northeast horizon. The Moon was only 2 or 3 degrees above the horizon when I shot this. <br /> <br /> This was the evening of August 25, 2024. Earthshine is just visible on the "dark side of the Moon." And yes, the sky really was this colour, as this field was so low and it was lit by moonlight reddened by atmospheric absorption. <br /> <br /> Taken from home in Alberta at latitude 51° N. <br /> <br /> Technical: <br /> This is a blend of 10 exposures taken in quick succession, from 15 seconds for the stars and base sky, to as short as 1/30-second for the lunar disk, blended with Lights1 luminosity masks created with Lumenzia extension panel in Photoshop. The exposure blending results in an image that better resembles what the eye could see in the scene with such a high dynamic range in brightness. <br /> <br /> The Canon R5 was at ISO 1600 and on the Astro-Tech 90CFT refractor telescope at f/4.8 for a focal length of 430mm. It was on the Astro-Physics Mach1 mount tracking the sky at the sidereal rate. Thus the blurred clouds. Finishing-touch Orton-style glow and stellar diffraction spikes added with Nik Color EFX and AstronomyTools actions.