Inspired by this stunning Astrophotography of the Year winner in the moon category, I thought I’d have a go and see what I could do.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/whats-on/astronomy-photographer-year/galleries/our-moon-2024

Unfortunately, my best effort last night didn’t even come close.

The winning image is of a small section to the top right of my photo. Still, undeterred, there are a few things I could do to try and improve things.

1. Better telescope, better camera, better lenses. These all cost money. In some cases, serious amounts of money.
2. Move to a better climate. This is my favourite solution. There are people who can actually plan what and when they’re going to photograph. They have regular clear skies and low light pollution. In my case, it’s more a matter of waking up at midnight, sticking my head out of the window, and if it’s a clear sky, hurriedly getting dressed and dashing out into the back garden to see what I can capture before the clouds roll in again.
3. Don’t photograph the full moon. The above photograph has very low contrast because it’s a full moon. The winning photograph was taken when the sun was casting beautiful shadows across the craters and mountains of Sinus Iridium.
4. Try stacking photos. This was a single image. It might be worth taking a few dozen and try stacking the results. Might be worth a go.

I’ll let you know how I get on.