MOONSHOTS - How to take photographs of the moon By Bob Taylor
©Bob Taylor
F
or many photographers the moon is an interes�ng subject to photograph, which o�en proves difficult to capture. This ar�cle explains why, and shows how to get good Moon images. The angular diameter of the moon in the sky is only about 0.5°, so unless a long telephoto lens is used, it will fill a very small part of the frame, even with a high megapixel camera the number of pixels that will cover the diameter of the moon will be quite low.
A full moon when the moon is near to its closest posi�on on its orbit is called a Supermoon. The moon photograph above was the Supermoon taken on the 27th April 2021, the next one will be very slightly larger on the 26th May 2021. The graph on the next page is used to see how large the moon - measured in pixels to cover its diameter will appear on a digital image, using different lenses and sensors. It also indicates the average, minimum, and maximum size due to its orbital posi�on.
The moon’s orbit is slightly ellip�cal, so it appears larger or smaller depending upon its orbital posi�on. 6
