Create a striking moonrise composite

Here's how to showcase the Moon's graceful ascent from the horizon

- Charlotte Daniels

One of the greatest draws of astrophotography is how it blends science and creativity.

Once you get to know your camera's settings, you'll unlock a plethora of ways to image the night sky. Even a humble DSLR offers plenty of target choices, from complex deep-sky objects like galaxies and nebulae to beautiful landscapes that celebrate our Milky Way.

While DSLRs aren't typically ideal for lunar or planetary photography due to their low frame rates, they're perfect for letting your creativity flow. A great example is capturing the Moon's ascent from the horizon. This involves shooting your foreground and Moon frames separately, then combining them in post-processing. As you can see from our image, not only can you capture lovely lunar surface details with a humble kit lens, you can also record the Moon's apparent colour change, from pinkish-orange to brilliant white, as the light it reflects near the horizon is scattered through our atmosphere.

To shoot a moonrise sequence, start by checking the next full Moon date and the moonrise and set times for your location (try www.timeanddate.com). The best time is during the waxing phase, just before the Moon is full. That's because it rises just after sunset, which also reduces interference from any background stars - helpful when it comes to blending your foreground and Moon frames.