View allAll Photos Tagged autostakkert
So, this is my baseline image of Mars for 2020, now to work on increasing the capture time and collecting a lot more surface details.
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90, ASI290MC, best 20% of 5k frames, Sharpcap v3.2, Autostakkert, Registax. Image date: August 30, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Full Flower Supermoon, in Color
~99.5% Full
This is the first time I have gotten an image of the Moon with my one-shot color planetary video camera. It is a very different process than photography with a DSLR, and I have a lot to learn.
ZWO 224MC Camera
Explore Scientific ED80 APO triplet refractor telescope
Celestron Advanced VX mount
Stitch of 3 images, each image stacked from the best 500 of 5,000 video frames.
Software: Firecapture, AutoStakkert!3, Photoshop CC 2020.
Last night's moon shining at 52% illumination, three panel mosaic with the Meade 12".
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX-90, ZWO ASI071mc-Pro, three panels, best 20% of 300 frames, unguided. Captured using SharpCap v3.2, processed in AutoStakkert, stitched in Microsoft Image Composite Editor. Image date: August 25, 2020. Location: The Dark Side Observatory, Weatherly, PA, USA.
Sonnenflecken
DIE SONNE NIE OHNE GEEIGNETEN FILTER FOTOGRAFIEREN!
ISO 200, f 16, 1/125s, 560 mm/1120 mm äquiv.,
Baader Sonnenfilterfolie auf
Sigma 150/600 an Lumix GH5, Stativ.
2 Bilder verrechnet mit Autostakkert,
Astrosurface, PS.
9.6 MP equivalent from 13 movies of 1300 images each.
+
3 x 1300 images each for the images with details
Kept best 10% of frames from each movie
---Hardware---
Mount : Skywatcher AZ-EQ-6 GT
Camera : PointGrey Grasshopper GS3-U3-23S6M
Tube : Celestron 11 EDGE HD /w 0.7 reductor
Barlow : 4x PowerMate
Effective focal length : 8000 mm
Effective aperture : ~ F/28
---Software---
Acquired with FireCapture
Stacked with AutoStakkert
Mosaic done with Microsoft ICE
Processed with Lightroom & Topaz SharpenAI
After a long time, we had a clear night, so I was finally able to take the telescope out to observe (and photograph) Jupiter. :)
Unfortunately, the GRS wasn't visible from Earth at the time, but I did get some detail in the clouds. ;)
4 of the biggest moons were also visible: IO, Europa, Ganymede, Calysto
I took several videos with different settings to capture the moons as well, which I merged in Photoshop.
Gear:
- Sky-watcher Skymax 102 OTA
- Celestron 2x Barlow
- ZWO ASI 120MC-S
- Sky-watcher Star Adventurer Pro
Software:
- Firecapture
- PIPP
- Autostakkert
- Registax
- Photoshop (composition)
Taken with a Celestron Edge HD 925 and ZWO ASI120MM camera from my backyard in Long Beach, CA.
2 45 s SER files were recorded in RGB filters. The best 40% of frames were stacked in AutoStakkert, then sharpened in PixInsight. The frames were registered and combined in WinJUPOS. Some final touches were applied in Photoshop to attempt to get the color right.
A very interesting solar prominence on today's sun.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120mm ED Triplet APO Refractor, ZWO ASI290MC, Daystar Quark Chromosphere + 2" UV filter, SharpCap v3.2, best 15% of 10k frames, AutoStakkert, Registax. Image date: 23 June 2019. Location: The Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, PA.
Last night’s 73% illuminated moon.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO ASI2600MC camera, best 20% of 1300 frames, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro pier mounted, ZWO EAF and ASIAir Pro, processed in Autostakkert and Registax. Image Date: May 29, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Saturno y 4 satélites, de izquierda a derecha: Rea, Dione, Encelado, Tetis
Nexstar 8Se
Barlow 3x
Risingcam ar0130c
Meade LPI-G mono
Autostakkert
Registax
Fitswork
Winjupos
Same data set as the previous image, but I stacked 10 frames and they were the best ones out of 41 total for this set. Alignment was on lunar features and not the stars, unlike the previous image. All images in this set were taken between 4:39-4:41 AM CST on Nov 8th, 2022. 4 second exposures, gain 11, offset 17, QHY183c at -20C, TPO 180mm Lens (40mm, f/4.5.) I was able to do more enhancements to it due to less noise in the stack vs a single 4 sec image.
Update: Made a stars-only image with 41x4 sec sub-images and composited the moon from the 10x4 moon-aligned stack back in. I like this version the best.
lunar-eclipse2022-11-08-10x4of40f-qhy183c-40f4_5-v2
Copernicus Crater – diameter is 96 km, named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. It typifies craters that formed during the Copernican period in that it has a prominent ray system. Need many more frames to strengthen the details.
Tech Specs: ZWO ASI290MC camera and Meade 12” LX90, best 25% of 10k frames. Software used included Sharpcap Pro v3.1 and AutoStakkert!3. Photographed on March 17, 2019 from the Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, USA.
Tonight’s crescent moon from Weatherly, PA. Three panel mosaic image.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Sky-Watcher EQ6R-Pro mount that is pier mounted, ZWO EAF, ZWO ASIAir Plus, best 20% of the frames from a 60 second video. Processed in Autostakkert and Registax. Image Date: April 25, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Telescopio: APM 140 mm f 7 APO
Lente di Barlow Zeiss Abbe 2X
Camera di ripresa: :ZWO ASI 174 mono Cooled
Montatura: iOptron CEM60
Software:Emil Kraaikamp Autostakkert 3.0.14, SharpCap 3.1 Pro, Zoner Photo Studio X v. 19, Pleiades Astrophoto PixInsight 1.8, Astra Image 4 SI
Filtro:Meade Red 31,8 mm
Risoluzione: 2000x1259
Pose: 200 a 33 fps
Lunghezza focale: 1960 mm
Seeing: 3 Trasparenza: 7
Taken from Oxfordshire, UK around 10:30pm GMT
Equipment:
8" Ritchie-Cretien telescope with 2x Barlow and Canon 1100D
ISO-800 1/100 second exposure
Processing:
Best 34% of 169 frames stacked using Autostakkert! 2, then processed in Adobe Lightroom, Focus Magic and Faststone Image Viewer
Shot through thick haze
I've been doing mostly lunar imaging for the past several months. I enjoy hi-res imaging of the lunar surface.
Here is a newly-processed shot of features from the Moon's Northwestern quarter, the Copernican period crater Kepler (at lower center, with the prominent ray system) and the Aristarchus Plateau at upper center (featuring the bright Copernican period crater Aristarchus and the sinuous Vallis Schröteri). On the extreme left margin at center is Marius Crater (with the volcanic dome region known as the Marius Hills. Between them all lies a portion of the vast Oceanus Procellarum, where distinctive features can be sparse!
Data collected April 5, 2020
Celestron EdgeHD8 telescope, Celestron Advanced VX mount.
ZWO 290MM camera
Data collection with Firecapture: ROI=1936x1096; ROI(Offset)=0x0; FPS (avg.)=81; Shutter=1.300ms; Gain=142 (23%)
Preprocessing with PIPP
Stacking with AutoStakkert!3, best 25% of 4908 video frames used.
Final processing in Photoshop CC 2020: slight cropping of stacking artifacts on margins
Taken with an 8" Ritchie Cretien telescope with focal reducer & Canon 1100D on an EQ5 Pro mount
Best 50% of 150 images, stacked using Autostakkert! 2 and processed in Adobe Lightroom
Stack of 300 images shot with the C14 in the observatory at Cerritos College.
Taken at 2025-03-09 0552 UTC
3x Barlow
ZWO ASI224MC with IR/UV cut filter
FireCapture 2.7
Stacking in Autostakkert, initial processing in PixInsight, final touches in GIMP 2.10
Illustration of the conjunction between the gas giant Jupiter and our satellite, the Moon, last night. I brought the two objects closer together to fit the frame but the scales are respected.
A rather succinct treatment.
- Stacking of several hundred images for each star with Autostakkert
- Wavelets with Astrosurface
- Post-processing with Darktable
- Layers with Gimp
Imager: Nikon Z7
Lens: Tamron G2 150-600 + doubler
This is the image taken for the Great Conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn
21 December 2020
At 13:32 UTC
From Dubai - United Arab Emirates
Equipment
Celestron CPC 800 telescope
Camera: ZWO ASI290MC
800 Frames
And Stacked only 40% of total frames using Autostakkert then enhanced in Registax and Photoshop
As you can see 2 moons of Jupiter are visible
Europa and Ganymede
A view of the unusual Schiller Crater on the Moon -- The first thing you notice with this crater is the elongated shape, it almost looks like a footprint left on the surface. The crater measures about 179 x 71 kilometers and was formed by at least two impacts. The crater was named for Julius Schiller (c. 1580-1627).
Tech Specs: ZWO ASI290MC camera and Meade 12” LX90, best 25% of 10k frames. Software used included Sharpcap Pro v3.1 and AutoStakkert!3. Photographed on March 17, 2019 from the Dark Side Observatory in Weatherly, Pennsylvania, USA.
Tránsito de Mercurio con Bawlow Powermate 2'5x
Telescopio: Skywatcher Refractor AP 120/900 f7.5 EvoStar ED
Cámara: ZWO ASI178MM
Montura: iOptron CEM40
Filtros: - Baader Neutral Density Filter 1¼" (ND 0.9, T=12.5%)
- Baader Solar Continuum Filter 1¼" (540nm)
Accesorios: - Baader 2" Cool-Ceramic Safety Herschel Prism
- TeleVue Lente de Barlow 2,5x Powermate 1,25"
Software: SharpCap, AutoStakkert, Registax y Photoshop
Fecha: 2019-11-11
Hora: 13:13 T.U. (Tiempo universal)
Lugar: 42.615 N -6.417 W (Bembibre Spain)
Vídeo: 30 segundos
Resolución: 1920 x 1080
Gain: 110
Exposure: 0,000154 s
Frames: 857
Frames apilados: 23%
FPS: 28.44
Copernicus is the prototype of a "young" lunar crater. It has a high rampart surrounding it, an interior that resembles a terraced amphitheater (just add stadium lights), and a system of rays that radiate away from the crater itself. It has not been battered by subsequent impacts, and it's interior still shows rubble that fell back into the crater after being blasted high above the moon's surface. All of these are textural cues that signal "freshness" in the crater marketplace.
When I captured video for this photo, atmospheric "seeing" conditions were forecast to be "average", but turned out a good bit better in the area of my neighborhood. I did not venture using a focal extender to magnify the image, but opted to use a smaller region of interest (I cropped the active area of my camera sensor to 1000x800px) on this one to close in on Copernicus.
The best 30% of 5779 video frames were used. Seeing was slightly above average, 3.5-4 on a 5-point scale.
Image selection and stacking accomplished with AutoStakkert!3. Subsequent wavelets and histogram adjustments with Registax 6. Toning and minor cropping with Camera RAW and Photoshop CC 2021.
Celestron Edge HD8 telescope
ZWO ASI 290MM camera
Celestron Advanced VX Mount
I support Damian Peach on Patreon where he posts planetary and cometary astrophotography tutorials including some data posts.
www.patreon.com/peachastro/posts
This is data from one of Damian's Barbados sessions on a Celestron C14 + ADC using a ZWO ASI224MC camera.
The data was 13 x OSC TIF files which I have sharpened in RegiStax6, then centred each frame in PIPP. After that, I stacked all 13 frames in AutoStakkert!3 before finally using Photoshop for toning, vibrance, texture and unsharp mask.
Image credit: Damian Peach/John Purvis
Apparent Venus Diameter: 13.9 arc-seconds
Venus phase: 78.3% illuminated
Image date: 2024-10-27
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The image software used to produce the picture was:
SharpCap (SER video capture of 1000 frames),
Autostakkert (convert the best 20% of frames to TIF format),
Gimp (basic image processing) and
Topaz (enlarge and sharpen).
Each video frame exposure was 15.625 milliseconds.
First reasonable sunspot group of this solar cycle.
Hazy conditions with moderate turbulence.
Equinox ED 900mm f/7.5 refractor with Baader Herschel Wedge.
ZWO ASI 174MM camera
Best 25% of 3000 frames.
Acquired with FireCapture
Stacked in Autostakkert!3
Wavelet sharpening in Registax6
FireCapture v2.6 Settings
------------------------------------
Camera=ZWO ASI174MM-Cool
Filter=L
Profile=Sun
Date=071120
Start(UT)=135501.615
Duration=31.306s
Frames captured=3000
File type=SER
ROI=1936x1216
FPS (avg.)=95
Shutter=7.387ms
Gain=0 (0%)
Gamma=64
Histogram=63%
Limit=3000 Frames
Sensor temperature=26.0°C
Focuser position=4057
Processed some old data from november last year.
Session Information :
* 51° N 3° E
* Torhout, Belgium
* Capture Date : 30.11.2019
Object Information
* Type : Solar edge with protuberances.
* Distance : 0.986 AU or roughly 147.5 million km
Hardware
* Mount : Celestron CGX
* Imaging Scope : TS Optics 152mm f/5.9 Achromat
* ERF : Baader 2" UV/IR Cut
* Filter : Daystar Quark Hydrogen-Alpha (Chromosphere)
* Imaging Camera : ZWO ASI 174MM
Exposure Settings
* Exposure : 6ms
* Gain : 0
* Gamma : 25
* Frames Surface : 4.000
* Frames Surface Stacked : 10% (400)
* Frames Protuberance : 4.000
* Frames Protuberance Stacked 10% (400)
Capture Software
* FireCapture
Processing Software
* AutoStakkert!
* RegiStax
* Adobe Photoshop
* Topaz GigaPixel AI
* Topaz Sharpen AI
* Topaz DeNoise AI
My first complete image of Jupiter and thee Galilean Moons. the moons from left to right Europa Ganymede and Lo. taken about midnight on 10/11/2022 Hope you all enjoy and thanks for any constructive comments.
Equipment:
Telescope - Celestron 9.25 Edge HD + 2.5x Barlow / ADC
Imaging Camera- Canon EOS R7
Mount - Sky-watcher EQ6-R Pro
Software:
Pipp
AutoStakkert
RegiStax6
Lightroom
Photoshop
Integration:
4K60 crop for 45 seconds
stacked best 1000 frames
Nice to have something back on the Sun again. Had hoped to follow it for a few days but the weather said no!
250mm f4.8 Newtonian, MPCC
ZWO ASI290MC
120s 100fps SER files
Baader solar film
Captured in FireCapture
Processed in AutoStakkert 3, Registax and PS
ZWO ASI178
Meade LX850 (12" f/8)
Losmandy G11
3000 frames captured in FireCapture
Best 30% of frames stacked in Autostakkert
AI Sharpened with BlurXTerminaor
Finished in Photoshop
Here is a view of last evening’s near full moon in high contrast. This is a four panel mosaic captured using the video capture mode of the ZWO ASIAIR Plus. Each panel was a one minute video processed in Autostakkert software.
Tech Specs: Sky-Watcher Esprit 120ED Telescope, ZWO AS2600mc-Pro running at -10C, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ZWO EAF, ZWO ASIAir Plus, 4 x 1-minute video. Image Date: February 4, 2023. Location: The Dark Side Observatory (W59), Weatherly, PA, USA (Bortle Class 4).
Un'elaborazione di una foto di Giove ripresa il 01/09/2021 alle ore 00:41. Il puntino sulla destra è il satellite Callisto. Celestron Maksutov 127 mm SLT; barlow GSO 2,5x; camera SVBony SV305; elaborati 450 frames su 2722 con PIPP, Autostakkert, Astrosurface, Registax.
If you've been around for about 4.6 billion years and your magnetic fields are getting a bit unstable, you may start showing spots.
Here's our Sun from 2024-03-26 with an enormous sunspot group near its equator, but that will rotate out of view in the next few days. Active region 3615 stretches nearly 250,000 km across the Sun's photosphere and has unleashed several X-class solar flares. For comparison, the average distance between the Earth and the Moon is 384,000 km -- this one sunspot group is bigger than half the distance from the Earth to the Moon! As we are nearing solar maximum for this cycle, there are many other active regions visible
This is from a stack of 9 images taken with a Nikon D5100 at a focal length of 300 mm. ISO 100, 1/80 s exposure, f/5.6 for all shots. A Thousand Oaks Optical solar filter was in place. Images were stacked in AutoStakkert, then the stack was processed in PixInsight and GIMP.
"Clavius Portrait"
I am a great fan of the lunar crater Clavius. I first noticed it in the early 1980's when I began observing the Moon through 11x80 binoculars. In those optics, it was an enormous crater that dominated landscape south of Tycho, especially on those days of the lunar cycle that it was near the terminator. I was able, with my 30 year old eyes, able to see it without binoculars at on these days. It was one of the first craters whose name I learned, after Tycho and Copernicus.
Once I began to photograph the Moon, I would be thrilled whenever my images showed Clavius clearly, clear enough to notice the beautiful arc of craterlets that adorn the Moon ' floor. The arc seems mathematically precise, and the craters seem to decrease in size with similar precision.
Over the past few years, I have tried to improve my images of Clavius. A year ago I achieved a personal milestone when I caught the region of Clavius under very good seeing conditions and with a freshly tuned-up telescope, making an image I still count as one of my best.
Here I present my current "portrait" of Clavius, this time with good seeing, a tuned telescope, AND a 3x magnifying lens. The magnification allows me to single Clavius out from the myriad craters crowding this part of the Moon. I have tried to present an image as near as possible to the visual experience one might have looking through an eyepiece. Photoshop enhancement was used, but sparingly.
The image is created from a stack of 9852 video frame images, collected in two one-minute video clips. The best 5% were identified and combined into a single image. This method, called "lucky imaging", uses each video frame as a sample of the seeing (a measure of atmospheric stability) at a brief moment in time, here averaging 1.9 milliseconds per video frame. In other words, out of 120 seconds of video, only the best 0.936 seconds were used in the final image.
So, here 'tis. My current best portrait of Clavius crater.
Instrumentation:
Celestron EdgeHD 8 telescope, Explore Scientific 3x Focal Extender, ZWO ASI290MM monochrome camera, Celestron Advanced VX mount.
Processing:
Video data captured with Firecapture software as two 60-sec .ser files. Pre-processing of each 4926 frame .ser file with PIPP. Best 5% of 9852 video frames from the two combined .ser files were stacked with AutoStakkert!3, mild wavelets processing done with Registax 6, and final processing in Photoshop CC 2020.
AR12158
Taken with a 140mm Refractor stopped down to 100mm / Lunt B1800 Calcium K module + Baader K line filter / 5x Powermate / Grasshopper 3.
The best 10 images of around 1000 images were stacked using Autostakkert 2. The image was sharpened using Lucy Richardson deconvolution in AstraImage 4, then false colour added in Photoshop CS5.
Fine light bridges cross the umbra.
Filaments seen in the penumbra
Bright faculae trail behind the sunspot
Granulations visible on the photosphere
900mm f/7.5 Skywatcher Equinox ED scope
TeleVue x2.5 Barlow
Baader Herschel wedge
Zwo 174 MM monochrome CMOS camera
Skywatcher EQ6 mount with Rowan belt drives.
Hinodi solar guider.
Best 40% of 1300 frames
Stacked in AutoStakkert!3
Wavelets in RegiStax6
High pass/overlay and shadows/highlights in PS
Frames captured=1300
File type=SER
ROI=1936x1216
FPS (avg.)=24
Shutter=12.89ms
Gain=0 (0%)
Gamma=50
Mars 11 October 2020 - a few days from opposition and a few days after its closest approach. 2020. Image taken at around 40 degrees altitude as well! From the back yard.
Equipment: Telescope 12" goto Skywatcher dobsonian,
Camera QHY163m, baader rgb filters, Tele Vue 5x powermate.
Software: Sharpcap, AutoStakkert 3, RegiStax 6, Topaz Denoise Ai, CS6.
Taken at 2:30am with a 70mm refractor, 2 x Barlow and Canon 1100D
ISO-800 1/800 sec exp
Best 69% of 158 frames stacked in Autostakkert! 2 and processed in Lightroom
White Light image:
8" Ritchie Cretien telescope with Mylar solar filter (my first test of this new filter), focal reducer and Canon 1100D on an EQ5 Pro mount
Best 50% of 75 images stacked in Autostakkert! 2, then processed in Lightroom, Photoshop CS2 & Lightoom
H-alpha image:
Coronado PST 2x Barlow and Canon 1100D on and EQ5 Pro mount
120 images shot in RAW (camera set to mono to help focusing), then the images were cropped and colour removed in Lightroom, exported as TIFFs.
Best 54% of 120 stacked in Autostakkert! 2. Stacked image was duplicated, one processed to enhance surface details, the other to enhance prominences. Images processed in Lightroom then colour added and images merged using Photoshop CS2. Final tweaks made in Lightroom and Focus Magic
Mars 11 October 2020 - a few days from opposition and a few days after its closest approach. 2020. Image taken at around 40 degrees altitude as well!
Equipment: Telescope 12" goto Skywatcher dobsonian,
Camera QHY163m, baader rgb filters, Tele Vue 5x powermate.
Software: Sharpcap, AutoStakkert 3, RegiStax 6, Topaz Denoise Ai, Topaz Sharpen Ai, CS6. Taken about 30 mins after my previous Mars photo from the same day.
Mars imaged during the evening of the 6th November. This image is a further process of data obtained near the end of my imaging session.
Conditions were disappointing but at least I managed to get a reasonable image with some nice detail visible despite the circumstances.
This is an RsGB image with the green component being a blend of the red and blue channels.
Three separate RGB runs with the resultant images stacked using Autostakkert 3. The stacks were then sharpened with Registax and finally derotated and assembled using Winjupos. The image was finished in Photoshop.
I am going to post an annotated version identifying some of the features visible in the image.
Thanks for looking!
Close-up shot of Clavius
iOptron iEQ45pro + ES127 + ZWO ASI 178MC +3xBarlow. Captured with SharpCap. 20ms exposure, 100/1000 frames.
Stacked with AutoStakkert
Here is a view of the crater Arzachel on Earth’s moon. This crater is about 56 miles wide and 2.2 miles deep. I love the terraced crater rim that shows up very well when the moon is near the first quarter phase.
Tech Specs: Canon 6D, Meade 12” LX90 telescope, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ZWO ASI290MC camera, best 50% of 1500 frames. Software: AutoStakkert! V3.0.14 (x64) and Registax v6. Location: Weatherly, PA. Date: June 2, 2017.
Telescopio: Celestron C11 XLT Fastar
CCD: ZW Optical ASI120MM
Montatura: Skywatcher NEQ-6 Pro Synscan
Software: Firecapture 2.3, Emil Kraaikamp Autostakkert 2.3.0.19, Astra Image 3.0 PS
Filtro Baader Planetarium IR-Pass 685nm
Pose: 350 a 29 fps
Lunghezza focale: 2800 mm
Seeing: 3 Trasparenza: 8
The Apenninus Mountains is one of my favorite locations on the moon, probably best view just after the first quarter moon when they are draped in some shadows. This is one of the first times I have imaged this region when almost fully illuminated, lots of details visible.
Tech Specs: Meade 12” LX90, Celestron CGEM-DX mount, ASI290MC, best 2.5k of 5k frames, AutoStakkert! V3.0.14 (x64), FireCapture v2.5.10 x64 and Registax v6. Photographed on July 4, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania.
Tycho Crater – diameter is 86 km and it is about 4.8 km in depth, located in the southern region of the moon. The crater was named after Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe (1546–1601). From Wikipedia, “The crater is sharply defined, unlike older craters that have been degraded by subsequent impacts. The interior has a high albedo that is prominent when the Sun is overhead, and the crater is surrounded by a distinctive ray system forming long spokes that reach as long as 1,500 kilometers. Sections of these rays can be observed even when Tycho is illuminated only by earthlight. Due to its prominent rays, Tycho is mapped as part of the Copernican System.”
Tech Specs: ZWO ASI290MC camera and Meade 12” LX90 telescope mounted on a Celestron CGEM-DX mount. Software used included Sharpcap v2.9 and AutoStakkert! Alpha Version 2.3.0.21. Photographed on February 6, 2017 from Weatherly, Pennsylvania.
There is a conspicuous chain of large craters, "The Great Eastern Chain", which lines up along the same meridian on the Southeastern limb of the Moon. They start on the southeastern shore of the Sea of Fertility and continue south (to the right in this image). The chain consists of the craters Langrenus, Vendelinus, Petavius, and Furnerius. The craters formed at different times, separated by gulfs of millions, even billions of years. This photo features the trio (L-R) of Langrenus, Vendelinus, and Petavius. I captured it on the night of March 30, 2021.
• Langrenus & Vendelinus: These craters are the first two links of the Great Eastern Chain. Langrenus and Vendelinus are two large 90-mi. craters located on the southeast shore of the Sea of Fertility. One is considerably older than the other. It should be easy for you to decide which that is. If you cannot tell, take note of the terraced walls and central peaks of Langrenus, standing out with clear detail. Note also the pattern of craterlets that radiate away from Langrenus. These are features of younger craters. Vendelinus, in contrast, has a smooth floor, where lava and rubble from later impacts filled its basin. The central peaks have been buried by this debris. The rim of Vendelinus is overlain by younger craters, and its surrounding rampart is battered down. These are the signs of great age. Indeed, these two craters may differ in age by a billion to as much as 3 billion years.
• Petavius: This is an example of a floor-fractured crater, a type of crater that has been modified by later volcanism, uplift, and consequent fracturing. The floor of Petavius is nearly 1,000 feet higher near its center than around the edge! Turbulence and volcanic upheaval from below split the central mountain (which rises to nearly one mile above the floor) and formed the rilles. The principal rille, Rima Petavius, is quite prominent: it extends from the central peak to the southwest wall. Petavius falls between Langrenus and Vendelinus in age. While it retains a notable central peak and its walls are terraced, its walls are also slumped and battered by secondary craters.
The imaging system used was a Celestron EdgeHD SCT, 8" aperture, f/10, 2032mm on a Celestron Advanced VX mount. I used a ZWO ASI290MM camera with an Optolong IR Pass (685nm) filter . I collected 32,399 video frames, then stacked the best 5 percent of them into a single image using AutoStakkert! 3. I applied some mild wavelets processing with Registax 6 and a final buff in Photoshop.
I want to acknowledge the work of Andrew Planck and his wonderful blog posts which first directed my attention to this (and many other) fascinating lunar features. I borrowed his organization and blended some of his text with my own for this post.