Lunar Photography: Capture Stunning Moon Photos Tonight

Unlike deep-sky photography, lunar imaging rewards you immediately:

Advantages of lunar photography:

• Bright enough for any camera, any location
• No tracking required for basic shots
• Visible details even at low magnification
• Changes appearance nightly (phases, libration)
• Can photograph in light-polluted cities
• Results within minutes, not hours

What you can capture:

• Craters (thousands of them!)
• Mountain ranges and valleys
• Mare (dark "seas")
• Rays from impact craters
• Earthshine (during crescent phases)
• Lunar eclipses

The Moon never gets boring. High-resolution imaging reveals new details every session. And during eclipses? Pure magic.

You can photograph the Moon with almost anything:

Phone + Telescope:

• Use adapter to mount phone to eyepiece
• Great for quick shots and social sharing
• Limited resolution but impressive results

DSLR/Mirrorless + Telephoto:

• 200-600mm lens captures the whole Moon with detail
• Easy to set up, no telescope required
• Excellent for eclipses and conjunctions

DSLR/Mirrorless + Telescope:

• Maximum detail and resolution
• Requires T-ring adapter
• Can capture individual craters in stunning detail

Dedicated Planetary Camera:

• High frame rate (hundreds of FPS)
• Designed for video stacking
• Best possible resolution
• Steeper learning curve

The Moon is MUCH brighter than you'd think. Settings that work for stars will massively overexpose the Moon.

For DSLR/Mirrorless:

• Mode: Manual
• ISO: 100-400 (low for clean images)
• Shutter: 1/125 to 1/1000 sec
• Aperture: f/8-f/11 for lens, telescope is fixed
• Focus: Manual, live view zoomed 10x

For Phone:

• Tap on Moon to lock focus/exposure
• Reduce exposure compensation (-1 to -2 EV)
• Use pro/manual mode if available
• Shoot RAW if possible

For Planetary Camera:

• Gain: Low to medium
• Exposure: 5-50ms per frame
• Capture 1000+ frames at high FPS
• Stack in software (AutoStakkert, PIPP)

The Sunny 16 Rule Works: Oddly, the Moon is lit by the same sunlight you'd photograph a daytime landscape with. f/16, ISO 100, 1/125 sec is a good starting point.

Critical focus is what separates amateur snapshots from stunning images.

The Challenge: At high magnification, atmospheric turbulence ("seeing") makes the image shimmer. Even when you think you're focused, the next moment might be sharper.

Bahtinov Mask: A precision mask placed over your telescope creates diffraction spikes. When they perfectly intersect, you're in focus. Essential for DSLR work.

Live View Method:

1. Point at Moon's terminator
2. Zoom live view to maximum
3. Focus until crater rims are sharpest
4. Wait for moments of still air
5. Take multiple shots and keep the sharpest

Video Method (Best for Planetary Camera): Record 30-60 seconds of video. Software will automatically select and stack the sharpest frames. This beats lucky imaging with single shots.

Pro tip: Temperature changes shift focus. Re-check every 15-20 minutes as equipment cools down.

The secret to ultra-sharp lunar images? Video stacking.

The Process:

1. Record 30-60 second video at high frame rate
2. Import video into stacking software
3. Software analyzes each frame for sharpness
4. Best 10-20% of frames are aligned and averaged
5. Result: Sharp image averaging out atmospheric blur

Recommended Software:

• PIPP — Pre-processing (centering, cropping)
• AutoStakkert — Frame selection and stacking
• Registax — Wavelet sharpening (the magic step)

Typical Workflow:

Video (2000 frames) → PIPP → AutoStakkert (stack 200 best) → Registax (sharpen) → Photoshop (final polish)

Why it Works: Atmospheric turbulence is random. In any 60-second video, a few hundred frames will have near-perfect stillness. Stacking averages these, dramatically improving resolution.

The Moon's appearance changes throughout its cycle. Here's what works best when:

Waxing Crescent (2-3 days after New):

• Earthshine illuminates dark portion
• Great for artistic shots with foreground
• Look for Aristarchus crater

First Quarter (7 days):

• Terminator crosses amazing terrain
• Theophilus, Cyrillus, and Catharina craters
• Apennine Mountains dramatic

Waxing Gibbous (8-13 days):

• Tycho's rays visible
• Copernicus crater stunning
• Sinus Iridum "Bay of Rainbows"

Full Moon (14-15 days):

• Ray systems most visible
• Tycho and Copernicus dominant
• Surface features flattened (less interesting for detail)
• Best for eclipses!

Waning phases:

• Same features lit from opposite direction
• Different shadow angles reveal new details

Check moon phase and rise/set times on our Dashboard.

At high magnification, the full Moon won't fit in one frame. Solution: Mosaics.

The Process:

1. Plan overlapping panels (25% overlap minimum)
2. Capture each panel as video, stack individually
3. Assemble in stitching software
4. Result: Ultra-high-resolution full-disk image

Software for Stitching:

• Microsoft ICE — Free, easy, handles most cases
• Photoshop Photomerge — Works well with pre-processed stacks
• Astro Pixel Processor — Designed for astrophotography

Panel Planning:

• 3x3 grid covers full Moon with typical setup
• 6x6 grid for ultra-high resolution
• Work systematically: rows, columns
• Overlap generously in case of drift

My Best Results: 4x4 mosaic using 6" refractor, ZWO ASI290MM, 2x Barlow. Result: 150-megapixel image showing craters down to 1km diameter. Printed 3 feet wide, it's jaw-dropping.

Ready to shoot the Moon? Here's your quick-start checklist:

Before You Go Out:

• Check moon phase on our Dashboard
• Verify clear skies and good seeing
• Charge batteries (camera and phone)
• Set up equipment during daylight if possible

Camera Quick Settings:

• ISO 100-200
• Shutter 1/250 second (adjust to avoid blowing highlights)
• Manual focus via live view

Targets by Phase:

• Quarter: Terminator craters
• Gibbous: Tycho rays
• Full: Ray systems, artistic wide shots
• Crescent: Earthshine!

Post-Processing:

• Increase local contrast
• Apply subtle sharpening
• Adjust white balance (Moon should be neutral, not orange)
• Crop to emphasize interesting features

The Moon rewards effort immediately. Every clear night, there's something new to capture. Get out there and shoot! 🌙