July 1st, 2022, 9:01 p.m. local time
Welcome to July. Tonight’s sky observation presented a remarkably clear view of the 5% illuminated Moon about a half hour after Sunset.
You never know when the sky will be so clear. Conditions can change in less than an hour. About 7 p.m. I did a sky check and observed considerable swirling clouds blowing from the West, the direction of my photograph posted above. And as you can see, if I hadn’t told you about the the partly cloudy view, you may have guessed the sky had been like this all day.
When the Moon is more visible (like the Quarter or Full Moon), taking a photograph through clouds may not be that difficult, and can even lend a bit of artistic flare to the final image. But when the Moon is at 5% or less, its visibility is too easily lost if there are distractions to compete with.
For the first time in a while, I had two simultaneous camera setups to capture this wonderful sliver of Moon light. The “wide field” shot posted here was with my DSLR camera. In a follow-up article, I will show my telescope/smartphone closeup, which should help you and I to appreciate just how little of the Moon was visible tonight.
(Update: The follow-up article is now available here.)
Equipment Used:
- Canon EOS Rebel 3 on tripod
- Sigma 17-50mm lens
- f/2.8
- 1/60 sec exposure
- ISO 100
- Focal length: 20mm
- Minor touchups in PaintShop Pro and AfterShot Pro
