The Mineral Moon
Category
Low Light Photography
Location
Stanmore, London
Gear
Nikon Z6, 127mm Skywatcher Makutsov, ZWO 294MC Pro, ZWO 224mc
Description
As an avid lunar observer and astrophotographer, I am always watching for rare celestial interactions. On this night, the cosmos aligned for an exceptionally rare event: a lunar occultation of Saturn, where the Moon passes directly in front of the ringed planet.Creating this final image required a complex, multi-stage acquisition process that generated over 200GB of raw data. First, I spent hours capturing high-resolution video panels of the Moon using a high-speed planetary camera—a technique known as "lucky imaging"—to shoot through atmospheric turbulence. These panels were later stacked and meticulously stitched into a high-density lunar mosaic.Next, using a dedicated astronomy camera, I tracked and recorded the precise moments Saturn disappeared and re-emerged from behind the lunar limb. Combining these distinct data sets required hours of processing to preserve the true colours and delicate details of both targets. The final image stands as a testament to the patient planning required to map our solar system in motion.
Photographer
Darshna Ladva
Social Media
Instagram: nebuladva
Facebook: Darshna Ladva Photography
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