This has been such a cloudy month, but even when it’s cloudy, I like to get out and find something to enjoy.  That usually means the Moon.  Fortunately, I did have one decently clear night night where I was able to image the Saturn-Moon-Regulus alignment.  I also remembered to capture Luna at first-quarter – typically not so exciting, but last night’s first-quarter moon was the second this month.  You can click on each of the images for larger versions.

This image is from May 27, when Luna was 17% illuminated and about 3.5 days old.  Imaging specifics were 1/60 sec., f/5.6, ISO-200, 300mm:

This is the same view, taken about about twenty minutes later, when the clouds had really moved in.  I was taken with the image’s sketch-like appearance.  Imaging specifics were 0.6 sec., f/5.6, ISO-800, 300mm:

Taken three days later, this image reveals May’s second first-quarter moon.  This month’s first first-quarter moon occurred on May 1.  Imaging specifics were 1/500 sec., f/5.6, ISO-200, 263mm:

Finally, the Moon with Saturn and Regulus in Leo.  Saturn is the golden-hued “star” above Luna; Regulus is the blue-tinted star immediately right of Luna. Imaging specifics were 8 secs., f/4, ISO-800, 18mm:

Tags: Firs-Quarter Moon, Luna, Moon, Saturn with Moon

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 31st, 2009 at 2:28 pm and is filed under Astrophotography, Moon, Night Sky, Planets. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.