Moon @ 98%

Fri May 01 2026

The forecast indicated clouds all evening but shortly before I was turning in for the evening, I decided to step out to see how the sky looked. The moon was bright at 98% with some wispy clouds surrounding it making for a nice view so I ran back in to grab my camera. Deep sky was out of the question for the night so I settled for the moon instead! This was a stack of about 30 frames at 1/125 and 1 frame for the background at 0.8”.

About this object

Type

Natural Satellite

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite, orbiting at an average distance of about 384,000 kilometres. Its heavily cratered surface, maria, and mountain ranges shift in appearance with the changing phase, when the low angle of sunlight along the terminator throws surface detail into sharp relief.

Acquisition

• Unfiltered: 31 × 0.8s (1s)
• Total integration: 1s

Equipment

• Telescope / Lens: Sigma 150-500mm F5-6.3 DG OS APO HSM
• Camera: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
• Software: Adobe Lightroom Classic, GNU Image Manipulation Program (GIMP)

Astrophotography by David Joyce, AstroDavido.