Projection of the Full Moon

May 16, 2022

Projection-of-the-full-moon.jpg

Photographer: Jean-François Gely   
Summary Author: Jean-François Gely   

You’ve perhaps observed a solar eclipse projected onto a white background; that is, the telescope was pointed at the Sun and its light was projected onto a white sheet or board. I had never done this with the Moon before, but the above is the result of my attempt to do so on the night of February 16, 2022.

That evening, a few hours before the full Moon, I decided to point the famous 62 cm telescope of the Saint-Véran Observatory at the Moon – I used a 100 mm eyepiece. The telescope, with a focal length of 9 m, was then fitted with a 90 x zoom, which allowed me to view the entire Moon, or rather, a representation of the Moon. I needed to be patient; however, I was finally able to obtain a 70 cm projection onto a wooden board.

Tonight, is the night of the full Flower Moon. See how it compares to the representation above.

Photo details: Single exposure of 8 seconds; ISO 1600; and f/4.0; unfiltered Canon 6D + Samyang 24mm f/1.4 lens.


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