Three-dimensional anaglyph of the Moon

Yuri Goryachko, Mikhail Abgarian, and Konstantin Morozov (Belarus) imaged the region containing the Bailly and Hausen craters twice in 2008 (June 27 and July 25) with a 230-mm Santel Mak, a near-infrared filter, and a Unibrain Fire-i 702 camera (Figure 9.1). They assembled the mosaics to create a stunning 3D anaglyph with the help of librations (Figure 9.2).

“Astronomy has been our favorite hobby since childhood,” Mikhail explains. “Yuri and Konstantin began film astrophotography prior to forming our group in 2007. Our main instrument, a Santel, 230-mm Maksutov–Cassegrain, was replaced in 2013 by a 360-mm Klevtsov–Cassegrain from the same manufacturer; only a single instrument was built. The Moon has always been one of the most interesting targets for us – this seemingly unchanging and boring object actually gives ample space for experiments. In addition to ‘standard’ shooting of lunar landscapes, our particular passions are full Moon mosaics and color images. This material collected for a long time allows us to obtain stereo images. For now our main goal is to realize mosaics for all phases at prime focus of the new telescope. Our dream is to create a mosaic of the full Moon with a focal length of 8–10 meters.”

Mikhail, Yuri, and Konstantin's images have been published several times in LPOD and Sky & Telescope. They have a web site at www.astronominsk.org/index_en.htm.