Moon on Sergey's Astrophotography

The Moon's South Pole Region

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:35:00 +0000

Extreme grazing sunlight along the Moon’s southern limb throws this rugged polar terrain into dramatic relief, with countless overlapping crater rims catching the light in a landscape of near-constant shadow — a region of particular interest for its permanently shadowed craters thought to harbor water ice.

Captured as a single video through an IR-pass filter, stacked in AutoStakkert!3, and processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Mare Nectaris

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:34:00 +0000

Mare Nectaris, one of the Moon’s older lava-filled impact basins, sits along the terminator in this capture, its relatively smooth floor bordered by a dense ring of ancient, heavily degraded craters.

Captured as a two-pane mosaic through an IR-pass filter, stacked in AutoStakkert!3, and processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Vallis Rheita

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 18:33:00 +0000

Vallis Rheita, a roughly 500-kilometer chain of overlapping craters thought to be secondary impacts from the Mare Nectaris basin-forming event, cuts diagonally across this densely cratered stretch of the southeastern highlands.

Captured as a single video through an IR-pass filter, stacked in AutoStakkert!3, and processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Mare Crisium

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 04:24:00 +0000

Mare Crisium, a roughly 550-kilometer lava plain isolated from the Moon’s other major maria, sits along the terminator in this capture, its smooth floor contrasting sharply with the dense, ancient cratering of the surrounding highlands.

Captured as a two-pane mosaic through an IR-pass filter, stacked in AutoStakkert!3, and processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Montes Apenninus

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:18:00 +0000

The Apennine Mountains (Montes Apenninus), a roughly 600-kilometer arc marking part of the rim of the Imbrium impact basin, cast dramatic shadows across this capture, with a prominent crater visible at the range’s edge.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon's Polar Region

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:13:00 +0000

This capture looks toward one of the Moon’s polar regions, where ancient, heavily overlapping craters create a rugged terrain quite different from the smoother mare regions elsewhere on the near side.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Copernicus

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:12:00 +0000

Copernicus, a roughly 93-kilometer crater with a complex terraced rim and central peaks, sits in deep shadow near the terminator in this capture, its full depth thrown into relief by the low sun angle.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon: A Cratered Terminator

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:08:00 +0000

Low sun angle along the terminator throws long shadows across this dense cluster of craters, exaggerating their depth and revealing fine detail in their walls and floors.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Clavius

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:06:00 +0000

This capture looks toward the Moon’s southern limb, where the enormous crater Clavius and its chain of smaller interior craterlets sit alongside dramatic shadow relief along the terminator.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Rupes Recta

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 20:00:00 +0000

This close-up resolves the Straight Wall — Rupes Recta — a roughly 110-kilometer fault scarp that appears as a dark line near the terminator, along with a dense field of surrounding craters in fine detail.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

A Mineral Moon at Waning Gibbous

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 21:48:00 +0000

Captured about four months after the previous mineral-color image, this waning gibbous view again reveals the Moon’s subtle surface chemistry: blue-toned mare basalts rich in titanium contrast against warmer, iron-poor highland material. The differing libration and lighting angle bring out a slightly different color balance than the earlier capture, particularly around Mare Tranquillitatis.

Assembled as a multi-pane mosaic, color-calibrated and processed in PixInsight.

A Mineral Moon

Thu, 23 May 2024 23:50:00 +0000

This “mineral Moon” image pushes the subtle natural color differences across the lunar surface far beyond what the eye can see, revealing mineral composition hidden in the regolith: the blue-grey maria are rich in titanium-bearing ilmenite, while the golden-tan highlands and crater rays — especially the bright system radiating from Tycho at the bottom — are more iron-poor and aluminum-rich. These color differences are real but extremely faint in ordinary images; strong saturation boosting during processing is what makes them visible.

The Moon, Montes Apenninus and Eratosthenes

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:17:00 +0000

Montes Apenninus, a roughly 600-kilometer arc marking part of the Imbrium basin’s rim, stretches across the upper part of this capture, its peaks catching the low sun while the lowlands below remain in shadow. At its western foot sits Eratosthenes, a 58-kilometer crater with terraced walls and no ray system of its own, its rays long since eroded away by billions of years of micrometeorite impacts.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon, Plato and Montes Alpes

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:13:00 +0000

The 101-kilometer walled plain Plato sits at upper left in this capture, its floor a smooth expanse of dark basalt in contrast to its rugged, terraced rim. Below it, the Montes Alpes range rises sharply from the shore of Mare Imbrium, its jagged peaks and ridgelines carved by the same impact that formed the Imbrium basin.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Gassendi

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:10:00 +0000

Gassendi, a 110-kilometer crater sitting on the northern rim of Mare Humorum, shows off its complex, fractured floor in this capture: a network of fine rilles cuts across the crater interior around a cluster of central peaks, the result of lava welling up and cracking the floor after the impact.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon: Copernicus and Its Ejecta

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:09:00 +0000

Copernicus, the 93-kilometer crater with terraced walls and a cluster of central peaks, sits at upper left in this capture, its full depth thrown into relief by the low sun. To the southeast, the rugged, hummocky terrain and chains of secondary craters mark the crater’s ejecta blanket, debris thrown out and sculpted by the impact that formed it.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon and Sinus Iridum

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 00:08:00 +0000

A closer view of Sinus Iridum, the roughly 236-kilometer bay left by an ancient impact basin later flooded by Mare Imbrium’s lava. Its arcing rim, anchored by the promontories of Heraclides and Laplace at either end, is thrown into sharp relief by the low sun, while the smooth mare floor within contrasts against the rugged terrain to the south.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon, Sinus Iridum and Plato

Sun, 21 Jan 2024 23:46:00 +0000

Sinus Iridum, the roughly 236-kilometer “Bay of Rainbows,” opens onto Mare Imbrium in the lower left of this capture, its arcing rim the remnant of an ancient impact basin later flooded by mare lava. To the upper right, the 101-kilometer walled plain Plato sits with its smooth, dark floor, both features rendered in fine detail by steady seeing.

Captured as a single video and stacked in AutoStakkert!3, then processed in PixInsight.

The Moon: A Long Terminator Mosaic

Sun, 21 Jan 2024 23:41:00 +0000

Assembled from several stacked panes, this tall mosaic follows the terminator across a long stretch of the Moon’s near side, from the walled plain Plato and the bay of Sinus Iridum in the north, down through the Apennine highlands, to the bright rays of Copernicus in the south. The low sun angle throws every crater rim and mountain range into sharp relief along the entire length of the strip.

Captured as a multi-pane mosaic, with each pane stacked in AutoStakkert!3, aligned and blended together, then processed in PixInsight.