Not sure what I am doing wrong? More mooning!

[tirediron]

Are you using Mirror Lock-up??????

No. Funny you should ask I was just reading about that a few hours ago! Will try it for my next moon shots. What does it actually do?

It locks the mirror up prior to opening the shutter to help reduce vibration within the camera body.

 

[KmH]

Your rear LCD should have an adjustment that lets you reduce the brightness.

Part of your problem is that the moon is pretty small in the image frame because of the focal length of your lens.

If you are using the inexpensive Nikon AF 70-300 mm lens, it's optics won't deliver much, if any, better than what you are getting.

Nikon's AF-S 70-300 mm VR lens costs more but has better optics. Note that VR would need to be turned off if using a tripod.

 

[enzodm]

Something that helps squeezing some extra sharpness is b/w conversion. Play with filters until you are satisfied (in DPP I use green filter).

 

[TonysTouch]

I think the biggest thing you should consider is turning your VR off while on a tripod.

 

[enzodm]

Tell me if you do not like to have your pictures edited and I will delete it. Working on RAW would give better results.