Sensor dust on moon shots? I stepped outside and was surprised to see the moon here in the Pacific Northwest. I grabbed my Panasonic G9 and took a few hand held shots with the Pano...

wbchinook Loc: Everson WA

I stepped outside and was surprised to see the moon here in the Pacific Northwest. I grabbed my Panasonic G9 and took a few hand held shots with the Pano 100-400mm lens at 400mm. This is of course the equivalent of a 800mm FOV in a FF camera. I have mixed emotions on the results of my endeavor.

My question pertains to the bright dots that are visible against the dark background. Would dust on the sensor show up this way?
I don't believe there are any stars between the earth and the moon LOL.

Thank you for your insight.

Wayne

(Download)

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Nice capture! The spots are easy to eliminate in PP.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

More likely dust on your lens reflecting light from the side.

wbchinook Loc: Everson WA

Ditto on removing the spots. Just wondering if dust would cause a bright spot against a black background. Haven't noticed any spots before. Of course they would be pretty much invisible against a bright background.
Thanks

wbchinook Loc: Everson WA

Thank you IDguy. You may be exactly right. There was a very bright streetlight on my RH side. Although I did have the lens hood extended, the low angle of the light may be the culprit.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

I think that the small bright dots are stars and came to that conclusion after viewing an enlarged downloaded image.

If you are referring to the area around the edges of the image I would think that would be fringing caused by your lens.

wbchinook Loc: Everson WA

Thank you for your input. Please download and double click on the second image. There are bright dots on the face of the moon.

flyguy wrote:

I think that the small bright dots are stars and came to that conclusion after viewing an enlarged downloaded image.

If you are referring to the area around the edges of the image I would think that would be fringing caused by your lens.

Bill_de Loc: US

One of the articles mentioned that while light reflected from the moon is usually bright enough to overpower star light, during the eclipse some stars will be visible.

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larryepage Loc: North Texas area

wbchinook wrote:

I stepped outside and was surprised to see the moo... (show quote)

Dust on the sensor should appear as dark spots where the particles have blocked light from reaching the sensor. Dust on the lens or filter should either be invisible at your focal length or very fuzzily out of focus. I'm thinking that they are most likely "hot pixels." Keep watching for them in low key images and see if they are always in the same place. If that's what they are, all sensors have a few of them....either now or down the road. You'll just have to process them out if they are objectionable to you.

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

wbchinook wrote:

I stepped outside and was surprised to see the moo... (show quote)

My photos from last nite have the stars showing up in them too. The eclipsed Moon was not bright enough to drown them out. I had the same experience when I shot the last solar eclipse. I could see and capture stars, planets and satellites.
So as others have said, yes they are stars and not dust spots. The camera can capture them because the ambient light is not greater than theirs.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

I think what you have is moon dust on your sensor. ;)

It’s most likely sensor noise or distant stars. Sensor dust will show up as dark on a lighter background.

wbchinook Loc: Everson WA

Thank you all for your replies. Most must not have downloaded and double clicked on the image. There is one bright spot in front of the moon on the first and several on the second picture. That will obviously eliminate any stars, even the shooting type.

I am inclined to give the prize for the correct answer to Larryepage for suggesting random hot pixels.

Thanks again everyone.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

wbchinook wrote:

Thank you all for your replies. Most must not have downloaded and double clicked on the image. There is one bright spot in front of the moon on the first and several on the second picture. That will obviously eliminate any stars, even the shooting type.

I am inclined to give the prize for the correct answer to Larryepage for suggesting random hot pixels.

Thanks again everyone.

I dont know what it is, I downloaded the second photo onto my computer so I could zoom in even more, and wow you have ALOT of spots. Not stars for sure because they are in front of the moon also like you said. I think others have said maybe dust on your lens. Might wanna give the lens a cleaning and maybe try a moon shot again when visible.

Bill_de Loc: US

When you said dark background I didn't realize you were talking about the subject. My bad.

The moon really has a lot of bright spots, not just in you photos. Check this out. Scroll to the 4th picture.

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/a-bright-spot-on-the-moon

larryepage Loc: North Texas area

I counted 13 bright spots in the second image, maybe a few less in the first one. Just as clarification around the possiibility of stars (especially in the first image)...I've taken a good number of serviceable hand held images of the moon in its various phases. I've taken a number of good images of stars in the night sky. But I've never seen any sharply resolved and focused stars in any hand-held images, although it is my understanding that Sony has at least one portable video cameras that can capture such images.