October 17, 2008
Telescope Eclipses Moon
image by Rick Baldridge, Campbell, California
Moonrises and Moonsets over distant horizons are always wondrous events. This one links a historically important observatory and telescope with one of its objects of study. The dome at the center of image, eclipsing a small part of the Moon, holds the famous 36" refractor that was used for two important series of lunar photographs. The first was a proposed collection of about 60 sheets. In 1896, Lick Director Edward Holden sent out the first sheet of the Observatory Atlas of the Moon, but apparently only 19 were actually issued. About 40 years later Francis Pease and George Ritchey obtained a more comprehensive and enduring collection of photos that were the best in the world until the 1960s or 70s. Many of these photos were used in Dinsmore Alter's Pictorial Guide to the Moon and Lunar Atlas; prints of these classic images are still available.
Chuck Wood
Note: I still haven't unpacked my lunar books and can't look up references - I believe it was Pease and Ritchey who took the classic Lick Moon images in the 1930s.
Technical Details
October 14th, 2008 at 7:27pm PDT from Campbell, CA USA. Canon Rebel XTi DSLR, ISO setting 100, Exposure 1/100 sec. Prime focus through a Stellarvue 80mm ED Refractor, 560mm F.L., f7.0. Alt-Az. mount, no drive.
Related Links
Rick uses Rob Matson's SKYMAP program to calculate the Moon's position relative to land features to get the proper alignment.
More photos including an annotated image.
Yesterday's LPOD: A Bump in the Day
Tomorrow's LPOD: Nope
COMMENTS?
Register, Log in, and join in the comments.
