Moon in full color

[Stosh]

Although this may appear to be false color on the moon, it's not. Most people de-saturate their moon photos. I decided to try pushing the saturation until I got something.

Is this shot useful at all or is it just an (arguably) interesting experiment?

 

[LaFoto]

I find it an interesting experiment, more so since this is not the way our eyes are able to see the moon. And I guess the tendency to desaturate, rather than over-saturate, follows this "being used to", the way we naturally see the moon. Though I'm not so sure about the amount of blue... why would it be there? Any guesses by those who know all about astro-photography and wave-lengths and all that?

 

[LCARSx32]

What lens did you use?

 

[AgentDrex]

Blue would be titanium...red perhaps iron or something similar...I went to school a ways back for spectral image analyzing but haven't kept up with it...

 

[Gruen Photo 7 Design]

nice image. what equipment did you use?

 

[benlonghair]

Blue would be titanium...red perhaps iron or something similar...I went to school a ways back for spectral image analyzing but haven't kept up with it...

Wouldn't the atmosphere effect the colors much more than chemical composition?

 

[LaFoto]

I would have thought so, too, Ben (do you really have long hair?).
And the question remains how much colour the software adds to the colour saturation when you tell it to add as much as it can...!??!? And is this THE RIGHT picture of the moon in the end, or one enhanced beyond natural by some software?

 

[benlonghair]

I would have thought so, too, Ben (do you really have long hair?).

Not for several years. Benlonghair is the internet handle I've been using forever, so I used it here. And benshorthair might be taken as a euphemism.

 

[99mallett]

I like it. :thumbup:

 

[AgentDrex]

Well, the software should be augmenting the "color" that is already inherent in the image...there would be some slight atmospheric disturbance...but it shouldn't affect the color much...

 

[Stosh]

Image was taken with a telescope, 800mm focal length with a 2x teleconverter and a 5d mk II.

Color - I used auto color balance which was about 4400K. So if I processed with "daylight" color temp, it would have been very red and no matter how much you pushed the saturation, all you'd get is more red. So I had to start with a (generally) neutral gray moon and push the saturation from there. I don't think the moon is gray, so technically I guess this is false color lol.

An analogy might be to take a pic of some red rock formations, balance the color to a generally neutral gray, then push the saturation to bring out the slight hue differences within the rock.

I agree, atmospheric conditions can blur the image and possibly make slight color changes, but not over specific, controlled areas like seen in this image. The slight color shifts are there, they just need to be brought out.

 

[Morpheuss]

that is a really cool photo i love how much detail you have of the moon

 

[KmH]

Those colors do not exist on the Moon, and are indeed false colors rendered by your post processing.

Just check out all the color images the Apollo astonauts made while approaching, on, and departing from the Moon. Like this famous, public domain, NASA photo made from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968 (Apollo 8):

 

[eric-holmes]

Those colors do not exist on the Moon, and are indeed false colors rendered by your post processing.

Just check out all the color images the Apollo astonauts made while approaching, on, and departing from the Moon. Like this famous, public domain, NASA photo made from lunar orbit on Christmas Eve, 1968 (Apollo 8):

All I can think is, How amazing would it be to be taking this picture?!

 

[AgentDrex]

Technically, colors don't exist at all anyways...anywhere as colors are the just light hitting our eyes in different ways...