NavList:

Peter,

With respect to your imaging challenge:

"The difficulty with the image, at least in past trials, has been an overly bright Moon and the need for a reasonably long exposure to show enough stars to serve as a frame of reference.  A neutral-density filter takes care of the Moon, but the long exposure directly conflicts with the need for stability when handholding the camera."

Have you considered using a graduated neutral density filter (sharp edge ) on your camera?  They are available in a range of attenuations and would allow you to attenuate the moon intensity without impacting the sensitivity needed for the star images in the same frame.

Cheers,

Robert