32-bit moon.

Literally.  This moon picture is assembled from 32 individual shots.  Each 640×480 sub-image is a stack of the best 50% of frames a  webcam video (averaging between 600 and 700 total frames each).  These sub-frames were then assembled into a panorama through the wonders of the Photoshop ‘Auto-Align Layers’ function.  The computer managed to get 30 of 32 in place, and I had to manually align and orient the last 2 frames.  What this leaves us with is a 5.2 megapixel composite which is the stacked average of some 10,000-odd individual 640×480 webcam frames.

The experience taught me I need to figure out how to set up the webcam framerate to minimize the banding evident in some of the videos, and need to get a setup to do all of this (hopefully to include adjusting focus) REMOTELY.  Sunday morning was especially clear, but was also 14°, which is pretty damn cold.  I gave up on the gloves, and just came in whenever my coffee cup ran out.  Holding the hot mug between my hands did better than constantly putting my gloves back on after messing with the computer.  Remote setup is gonna happen.

wpid3450-11-Jan-15-Moon-Panorama.jpg
(Click for full-res image)

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