Plato with craterlets

[RikM]

I had a few breaks in the cloud last night, so I had a quick swish around the moon with my Dob. The extra aperture meant that I could push the magnification a lot more than I have been able to in the past. There also seemed to be a lot more detail / resolution in the view. I don't know if that is due to the extra inches or because my eyes have a few more astro-miles on the clock? Probably a bit of both.

Anyway, I saw the craterlets within Plato for the first time. As part of the Lunar 100, this is one of the ones I have trying to get ticked off for months, so I am very happy to finaly see the little things.

[Ursa Major]

Wow, that looks really realistic. Great sketch. You've managed to capture a lot of fine detail.

I really like the different levels of shading, it really makes it look very 3D with the mountains in the top left really coming out at you. Very nice.

[kniclander]

wow! well done on the craterlets and great sketch:icon_salut:

[Ursa Major]

wow! well done on the craterlets and great sketch:icon_salut:

Yeah. I could only see 3 at first but upon closer inspection I can see many more. Again, good job.

[RikM]

Thanks. I could make out the larger centre one quite easily, but the other two only came into view after I had been at it a while. The top one was really faint. It doesn't help that I don't have a decent eyepiece at this focal length. I used a Meade 4000 6.4mm Plossl with a SW 2x Barlow. I would hope the view would be a bit brighter and sharper through some decent glass.

[astroeddie]

Rik,

Well captured.

Many craterlets are seen in images, but its a totally different scenario when sketching. Lovely subtle detail excellently rendered.

Cann't wait for the moon to get a bit higher in the sky for me.

Cheers for sharing

[DarkerSky]

That is stunning Rik! A beautiful drawing. POW for me definitely!!

[foundaplanet]

Great drawing.