Lunar eclipse at sunrise, October 8, 2014

Eclipsed Moon setting in totality, photographed from the Nanticoke-West Nanticoke bridge over the Susquehanna river, Nanticoke, PA.

A full account of my experience of this eclipse can be found here.

First quarter and clouds, October 1, 2014

Wednesday, October 1 was the First Quarter point, the day the the Moon appears lit up on its Western-facing half. It was also just the second day of this lunar cycle that wasn't completely clouded out - for a little while.

The Moon seemed unusually bright, and the camera had a hard time adjusting to it. Tripod shot at 42x magnification. Image taken at 8:19 PM, shortly before the Moon vanished entirely - see below.

I used my standard trick for teasing out detail when the Moon is so bright: I took images at 60 frames per second and enhanced them. This mode takes sixty lower-resolution shots in a row, and the images are usually so dim that, except at Full Moon, some enhancement is needed. I crank up the brightness and the contrast to manipulate the data in the image so that things that are washed-out in regular images become visible. This results in an eerie view of the Moon under lighting conditions that we never experience in real life, showing craters and rays and highlands that are not visible in a typical image. Taken at 8:12 PM.

A huge, thick cloud bank rolls to cover the Moon at 8:15 PM. In a few minutes, this brought the evening's photography to an end, and I was able to resume my garbage night duties. Note the teapot of Sagittarius directly below the Moon.

Jupiter and a Waning crescent, September 19, 2014

The Moon and Jupiter in the pre-dawn Eastern sky, September 19, 2014, 6:13 AM

Waning crescent Moon, September 19, 2014, 6:16 AM

Last quarter amongst the clouds: September 15, 2014, 12:33 AM

Last night the Moon wasn't quite at Last quarter, but it was pretty darned close. Unfortunately it was obscured by broken clouds that thundered across its face. Sometimes it put in an appearance, as did nearby Aldebaran.

September 15, 2014, 12:33 AM

Detail of above featuring the Moon and Aldebaran

I took a series of close-up shots, but the clouds were a constant problem. Below are the best two images.

September 15, 2014, 12:35 AM

September 15, 2014, 12:36 AM

Clouds and the Moon, July 13, 2014

The Moon was technically Full on July 12, 2014. I went out after midnight in the early morning hours of July 13 to try to photograph the Moon, but clouds threatened to interfere. After some quick shots, I decided to photograph the Moon with the clouds for context. I think they came out well.

First light: April 1, 2014

My first photos of the Moon with my new camera.