[ICanScienceThat]

No. I mean there's more area illuminated in my photo. The terminator appears further along in Stellarium.

The tilt of the terminator is off because I tilted both my photo and the screencap from Stellarium to try to keep the orientation of all of the images close to the same. At 12:30 local the moon was still ascending, so the moon was tilted CCW. I just rotated both images, mimicking an equatorial mount, but I eye-balled it and didn't get them exactly the same.

I had quite a brilliant moon in real life. Stellarium, even with the atmosphere filter turned off, is duller. But looking along the terminator line, less of my moon is "in shadow." (Shadow in 'quotes' since it's still a claim Jrowe hasn't conceded.)

I would say that Stellarium's terminator is not nearly as defined as yours, but is it farther along? I'm not really seeing it. Maybe if you overlaid them?

[Bobby Shafto]

I fiddled with the brightness and contrast, and you're right. It brought out the demarcation of the terminator much more clearly, and yeah, it matches.

[BigGuyWhoKills]

I fiddled with the brightness and contrast, and you're right. It brought out the demarcation of the terminator much more clearly, and yeah, it matches.

Beautiful pictures, Bobby!  That is incredibly similar to Stellarium.  I may try to set up my tripod tonight and replicate this.  Thanks for including camera settings.

Do self-illuminated moon believers have an answer for the incredible disparity between the terminator and the opposite horizon?  Why is the horizon so crisp, but the terminator so fuzzy?  Do they have an answer for why one side of a crater near the terminator is emitting light, but the bottom (shadow) of the crater is not?

[Bobby Shafto]

Thanks.

The area around Tycho appears differently in the Stellarium image compared to my photo. Mine is more heavily exposed, reflecting the high albedo of the crater and emphasizing the impact rays. The Stellarium image shows more relief of the craters surrounding Tycho and the rest of that lower limb.

With some landmarks and a little hunting, I was able to pick out some of the more prominent crater features:



If you are thinking of taking a picture, let's coordinate. I'd really like to capture a simultaneous image from two different spots from earth. Hoping you're somewhere far away from Southern California. If you tell me what time you think you'll be photographing, I'll try to time a couple of photographs: one that's simultaneous and one timed to capture the moon at the same elevation above the horizon, the purposes for which are for another topic and not this one. 

[Bobby Shafto]

Tonight's moon rise in SoCal (after clearing clouds):



82.6% illuminated

[ICanScienceThat]

You do fantastic work Bobby. This is amazing.

[Bobby Shafto]

Thanks, but no moon pics tonight. Moon is rising here now, but I'm too sleepy to hassle with getting tripod and camera out.

Instead, here's a 28-day time lapse of the current moon cycle as simulated by Stellarium (atmosphere and terrestrial turned off; equatorial mount):



You can detect the libration, but not any rotation of the face of the moon. It sure looks like a shadow line crossing over the constant face of the moon.

(Also, off topic from this thread, but BigGuyWhoKills and I coordinated a simultaneous sighting/photographing of the moon last night, the results of which I posted in the Appaullingly topic that's been relocated to the Angry Ranting board; here for anyone interested.)