How to Create an Amazing Mineral Moon Mosaic (Free Software Only!)

With a high-magnification telescope like the Celestron NexStar 6SE or 8SE and a planetary camera, it's impossible to fit the full moon into a single frame. This is known as the "keyhole effect." In this video, I take you through my entire workflow of capturing 14 individual high-resolution panels and stitching them together into one massive, stunning "Mineral Moon" image. We skip the discontinued tools (like Microsoft ICE) and focus on a completely free, professional-grade software stack that gives you total control over your final image, using Hugin for the stitching step. 📥 Free Software Used in this Video: ► SharpCap (Focus, Capture): https://www.sharpcap.co.uk/ ► AutoStakkert (Stacking): https://www.autostakkert.com/ ► RegiStax (Sharpening): http://www.astronomie.be/registax/ ► RawTherapee (Photo Editing): https://rawtherapee.com/ ► Hugin (Stitching): https://hugin.sourceforge.io/ ► GIMP (Photo Editing): https://www.gimp.org/ 🔭 GEAR USED IN THIS VIDEO (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying Amazon purchases and you pay the same amount, while supporting this channel) ► Telescope: Celestron NexStar 6SE - https://amzn.to/4qbQppt ► Camera: ZWO ASI678MC - https://www.highpointscientific.com/z... 🔭 ALSO USED BUT NOT HIGHLIGHTED ► Focuser: Celestron Focus Motor - https://amzn.to/4s11wTS ► 6SE Bahtinov Mask - https://amzn.to/3Xc9L17 ► 6SE Tri-Bahtinov Mask - https://ebay.us/m/JdSV1G ► Temperature Probe: TEMPer2 Inside/Outside - https://amzn.to/48LZFuF ► Thermal Conductive Glue - https://amzn.to/3MtfgXj ⏱️ VIDEO CHAPTERS 00:00 - Introduction, Equipment, and Settings 03:35 - Image Captures 04:53 - Stacking using AutoStakkert 07:40 - Sharpening in RegiStax 16:44 - Stitch Prep - Cropping with RawTherapee 22:56 - Stitching with Hugin 29:42 - Mineral Moon Color Enhancing in GIMP #Astrophotography #NexStar6SE #NexStar8SE #MoonMosaic