# And now for something completely different...



## Terry D (Sep 17, 2016)

Sorry for the Monty Python rip-off, but it fits this selection of pics I took earlier this week:

These were all taken from my back deck using my 150 X 600mm zoom. All are crops and all have been through post-processing (which accounts for the color differences).

This was Tuesday night about two days after first quarter (what some folks call a half-moon). Enjoy!


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## Firemajic (Sep 17, 2016)

Dramatic and mooooody!...  Fabulous work....


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## sas (Nov 11, 2016)

Glad you posted. I find astronomy fascinating. My grandgirls are here this weekend and will use our telescope. Unfortunately most of earth is now experiencing "light pollution". Hard to see anything. When I'm in the Colorado Rockies on climbing trips it is still pretty awesome there. But best and clearest I've experienced is far south in the French West Indies. I can touch the stars. I'm on my second read of The Grand Design but most eludes me. If I could retrain my brain I'd choose to be an astrophysicist. They are so fortunate to have a glimmer of understanding of the Universe.


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## Terry D (Nov 11, 2016)

sas said:


> Glad you posted. I find astronomy fascinating. My grandgirls are here this weekend and will use our telescope. Unfortunately most of earth is now experiencing "light pollution". Hard to see anything. When I'm in the Colorado Rockies on climbing trips it is still pretty awesome there. But best and clearest I've experienced is far south in the French West Indies. I can touch the stars. I'm on my second read of The Grand Design but most eludes me. If I could retrain my brain I'd choose to be an astrophysicist. They are so fortunate to have a glimmer of understanding of the Universe.



What captures my imagination about astronomy is how the universe can be viewed in so many ways. At times I simply appreciate the overwhelming beauty of it; from skyscapes viewed with the naked eye, to using a telescope to view the spectacular terrain of the moon, Saturn's rings, and Martian dust storms. Then moving further out you can see star clusters, nebulae, the intricate corpses of dying suns, and even entire galaxies which are so far away it has taken many millions of years for the light we are seeing to reach us. All that feeds my soul. Beyond the visual aspect of astronomy and the physical beauty of the universe, is the scientific side -- the understanding of how it all works, and the questions (and answers) that brings. For instance, I know that the position of Jupiter, or Saturn, or Mercury in the night sky has nothing to do with my personality or my future, but I also know that without Jupiter out there sweeping up comets from time to time life on Earth would not exist at all. The random gatherings of stars in our night sky that our forefathers named after their heroes and legends are not responsible for my fate, but without them, and the countless other stars which have burned and died their explosive deaths, I would not exist. We truly are made of stardust. Astronomy teaches us that everything in the universe happens in ways we can understand if we take the time to study it and learn it. 

So, to me, the night sky -- from the Moon to the edge of the universe -- is a reservoir of art, mystery, and learning. It seems almost magical, but there is no magic to it. That's why I love it so.


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## sas (Nov 11, 2016)

So well expressed. sas


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## The Fantastical (Nov 13, 2016)

I think that Monty Python could be used more often! I am always far more inclined to click something Monty Python sounding... it shows that the poster has good taste!  lol

Great shots of the moon, wish I could get shots like that... just never quite manage it though...


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## sigmadog (Nov 15, 2016)

Just stumbled into this thread and really like the clarity of the photos. I remember trying to shoot the Blood Moon about a year ago and having all kinds of difficulty because I had to set such a long exposure the moon's orbit moved it ever so slightly to screw-up the focus. Of course, the Blood Moon is a definite low-light shot. Shooting the half-moon gives a lot of light, but also allows for some awesome shadowing of craters. These are great examples.


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