Shoot the Moon
Shoot the Moon It's a common sight in the night sky..... too common for some astronomers who always crave dark skies for deep sky imaging. I get the frustration; especially when a full moon coincides with the first (and only) clear night for months. But I would challenge my astronomer colleagues we with this simple thought. How many of today's astronomers interest in the beauty of the night sky started with their first look at the moon through a pair of binoculars? Don't we owe something to the moon for getting us into this hobby in the first place? You have to work with it, avoid it if you must but if you can't, by all means pay it a visit with your telescopes and remind yourself where it all started. Just a thought. A thumbnail crescent moon - my favourite profile For me, the best times to observe and image the moon are in the early waxing and late waning phases. There is nothing more evocative than an early morning thumbnail crescent moon, close to the hor