dSLR image of Earthshine and HyperExp Sunshine on Moon, occulting Pleiades stars

[Shore Lab]

Thanks for the posted information, all, especially the recent
suggestions.

I just posted a cropped prime-focus image of the moon, taken at the
end of the August 14, 2009 Pleiades lunar occultation. My star chart
suggests these stars near lunar sunshine are down to approx. 7th
magnitude in this hyper-exposed view at prime focus. (I like the
hyperexposed terminator.) Higher magnification may be better for
stars only, dimming the moon more than stars. But to simulate LCROSS
impact ejecta (not a point source, we hope), maybe MOONSHINE (or any
nebulosity in the background, lost for Pleiades) will be the best
test, and easier than catching nearby stars, with a more popular,
attractive result.
A related publication that measures Earthshine as 12-17 mv per arcsec
2 is at http://www.iac.es/folleto/research/preprints/files/PP07047.pdf
(I see we have no subscripts and superscripts in email.)

This time, foggy conditions did not limit me and my magnification, but
atmospheric stability and aesthetics did. (Sorry. The less cropped,
sharper, 14-bit aesthetic image is available for licen$e only, to help
bail out our university.) I think these low magnification, brighter
images may be important for even better noise with these 8.45-um
pixels, to detect a dim ejecta plume.
My setup also captured detailed Earthshine (and extensive corona)
during a total solar eclipse mid day (also available for license, to
support our university).

Info below is in the initial, standard format, adding focus method and
mount used.

File name of posted image : CKitting_20090814_0946Pleiades.jpg
Name of observer : Dr. Christopher Kitting, Cal State U. East Bay,
Email address of observer : chris....@csueastbay.edu
Aperture of my telescope : 130 mm (Takahashi triplet ortho apo
refractor)
Focal length of telescope : 1000mm
My camera used : Nikon D700 DSLR (12.3 MP native)
Camera detector dimensions 24mm x 36mm
Image capture software: None. (Photoshop CS4 RAW converter to 25MP
and 14 bit depth per channel, is available for license.) No
manipulation of jpg from camera (here), except reduced to ¼ resolution
here.
Highest Quality jpg.
Cropped to ~40% of frame area.
Exposure information : ~1 fps, 1/3 second at ISO 1600. Moderate
light pollution.
Imaging at 1000mm focal length, f/7.7 (prime focus). COLOR here.

1.74 arcsec per pixel in original. (3.5 arcsec per pixel here.)

Time and date of exposure : 0946, on August 14, 2009 (UT)
at end of Pleiades Lunar Occultation. North is UP.
Focus via Orion motorized focus and “Live view” on dSLR at pixel
resolution, limited by atmospheric turbulence here.
Mount: Orion Sirius Mount (as in my previous posts).
Observer location: Diablo, CA , 
East of San Francisco Bay.
N 37° 48' 13.1" W 121° 56' 49.0"

Elevation: ~100 m above sea level. Mediocre atmospheric stability.
Moon was ~25 degrees up.

A direct URL to the image is http://tinyurl.com/oopegs

[Derek C Breit]

Now we are talking..

A useful item at this point, imo, is to discuss and practice with an
occulting bar, such as an 1/8" wide strip of paper across the nosepiece of
the camera, to block part of the bright limb.

I will be trying this out, as well as timing all the occultations I can,
starting at the beginning of the next lunation.

Anyone interested can see the predicted times for Occultations as seen from
my place in Morgan Hill, CA on my website..
Specifically this page..
http://www.poyntsource.com/New/Lunar.htm
Use the scroll bar on the right and scroll down ~ 18 screens until you see
the Heading..
ALL EVENTS FOR MEADE 12" SCT Mag 9 and brighter then find the appropriate
date in Universal Time..

Alternatively.. If you provide me with equivalent information to this (by
direct email)..

Occultation prediction for BREIT IDEAS Obs - 12inch LX200
E. Longitude -121 42 10.0, Latitude 37 6 47.8, Alt. 282m; Telescope
dia 30cm; dMag 1.0

I can provide you with accurate predictions for your locations..
(Also check if I already have a Regional Page that covers your area..
http://www.poyntsource.com/New/Regions.htm )

Derek - IOTA N & S America Regional Lunar Occultation Coordinator
www.poyntsource.com/New/index.htm

[Jim Mosher]

Thanks for posting another interesting image, Chris!

I agree that for those capable of resolving the LCROSS impact cloud as
an extended object, practicing on bringing out the Earthshine will be
much more relevant than photographing stars. The brightness of stars
relative to the extended lunar disk is very much a function of the
aperture and f/number; but the relative intensity of the bright and
dark parts of an extended image is the same for everyone.
Unfortunately, I don't think the LCROSS scientists have made it clear
how bright they expect the impact cloud to be relative to the Moon's
polar Earthshine at this, or any other, phase. Indeed, I'm not
entirely sure if we are expecting to see from Earth an extended cloud
of relatively constant brightness or two line-sources (possibly
resolved in one direction only) at the periphery of the cloud.

By using longer-than-normal exposures, Kurt has managed to capture
some extended patches of fairly low surface brightness bordering the
"Malapert hole"; but not (as best I can tell) the Earthshine which
must fill the entirety of the hole. Whether the glare from the bright
features nearby makes it impossible to capture that, or not, is
unclear to me. As Derek comments, an occulting mask at the prime
focus (a bit like a coronograph) might be helpful.

-- Jim

P.S.: One very minor point: I was a bit confused by your use of the
word "cropping" in this and the earlier message. To the best of my
knowledge cropping means focussing on a piece of an image by deleting
the distracting parts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cropping_(image)

I believe the operation you are referring to (showing the identical
area, but using more or fewer pixels) is more often called "resizing".

--

On Aug 19, 12:04 am, Shore Lab <chris.kitt...@csueastbay.edu> wrote:
> Thanks for the posted information, all, especially the recent
> suggestions.
>
> I just posted a cropped prime-focus image of the moon, taken at the
> end of the August 14, 2009 Pleiades lunar occultation.  My star chart
> suggests these stars near lunar sunshine are down to approx. 7th
> magnitude in this hyper-exposed view at prime focus.  (I like the
> hyperexposed terminator.)  Higher magnification may be better for
> stars only, dimming the moon more than stars.  But to simulate LCROSS
> impact ejecta (not a point source, we hope), maybe MOONSHINE (or any
> nebulosity in the background, lost for Pleiades) will be the best
> test, and easier than catching nearby stars, with a more popular,
> attractive result.
> A related publication that measures Earthshine as 12-17 mv per arcsec

> 2 is athttp://www.iac.es/folleto/research/preprints/files/PP07047.pdf

> (I see we have no subscripts and superscripts in email.)
>
> This time, foggy conditions did not limit me and my magnification, but
> atmospheric stability and aesthetics did.  (Sorry.  The less cropped,
> sharper, 14-bit aesthetic image is available for licen$e only, to help
> bail out our university.)  I think these low magnification, brighter
> images may be important for even better noise with these 8.45-um
> pixels, to detect a dim ejecta plume.
> My setup also captured detailed Earthshine (and extensive corona)
> during a total solar eclipse mid day (also available for license, to
> support our university).
>
> Info below is in the initial, standard format, adding focus method and
> mount used.
>
> File name of posted image : CKitting_20090814_0946Pleiades.jpg
> Name of observer : Dr. Christopher Kitting, Cal State U. East Bay,

> Email address of observer : chris.kitt...@csueastbay.edu

[cano...@yahoo.com]

Chris, Would you email me the RAW unprocessed image for photometry
analysis? Thanks. - Kurt cano...@yahoo.com

On Aug 19, 1:04 am, Shore Lab <chris.kitt...@csueastbay.edu> wrote:
> Thanks for the posted information, all, especially the recent
> suggestions.
>
> I just posted a cropped prime-focus image of the moon, taken at the

> end of the August 14, 2009 Pleiades lunar occultation.  <snip>