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Any moon aficionados?


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Now the moon is getting quite bright for most of the evening (that I'm awake and able to observe) what do people find to observe? Last night enjoyed views of the moon but find it a bit, dare I say it, boring after a while. I am interested in observing anything and everything but deep sky objects are of most interest.

I think the problem for me is that the moon is very obvious (i'm sure this is at first glance) and that I'm not sure what is of interest/challenging to observe. I spent around an hour last night observing various craters and enjoyed it but would be interested to find what others find exciting in observing the moon. I find good sketches of craters and features very beautiful so i may have to try my hand at sketching features of the moon to fully appreciate what it is that I'm looking at.

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Sorry, but I feel you are mistaken labelling the moon boring.

There is a difference between looking at the moon, and observing it. The longer you study it, the more you will see :(.

Of course, looking and observing applies equally to any object.

As Olly says, owning a lunar atlas will redirect your thinking perhaps. He is also being fair minded, because as an experienced imager, he would perhaps wish the moon to go and orbit some other planet, and cease being a nuisance here :D.

Ron.

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The Moon has never been so exciting and interesting to observe as it has been since i bought my 8SE. There is just so much to see and discover as the terminator moves across the surface. I love reading about the size of all the craters i see (some of them can easily fit Mount Everest inside).

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I'd suggest trying to sketch along the terminator... that will help to focus the observing skills. And it's quite astonishing what you will pick up. It doesn't matter if you produce just a rough diagram, but you can use that to cross reference to something like the VMA (Virtual Moon Atlas) and identify what you're looking at. Also, there's a challenge called the Lunar 100... give that a go and see how you get on. You should be able to see a lot more of the Lunar 100 than I ever could with my 80mm refractor.

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Thanks for the replies, I think i will get 'Observing the moon' by Gerald North and 'Sketching the Moon' by Richard Handy as starting points. Often with my attempts at deep sky observing I get distracted from the main objective (after trying and failing usually) and find double/triple combinations of faint stars etc and just observe what is there. These are often the most enjoyable little adventures I've had and make the 'failed' observing session very memorable. I'm looking forward to finding out what lunar observing is all about and having similar little digressions.

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I would suggest you keep notes on exactly what it is you see on the moon, there's a lot to see... And it's actually quite easy... a nice bright lantern is ideal as you don't need to worry about dark adaption for lunar observing it's so bright anyway. (If you're on your own and no one is attempting deep sky that is)

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Yes, keeping notes sounds like a good idea. I've only ever observed alone so no worries about upsetting anyone else. I'm quite lucky to have about 60 acres for my backyard (I live on/partly run a horse yard) in a rural location. Gives me great dark skies but also never get the chance to meet other astronomers as the chances of me driving to another dark site are nil! Swings n round abouts but give me dark skies first and foremost!

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Someone hopefully will have a link... But I remember a game as such for the moon where you had to identify 100 objects on the moon. These included some quite rare items like the double X (I think that is right) and spotting the areas for various landings etc. The moon is an awesome subject and her relation to Earth makes it even more beneficial in that we are looking as such at ourselves in the beginning as such.

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Last night enjoyed views of the moon but find it a bit, dare I say it, boring after a while.

wow i love the moon what did you not enjoy,?did you have any type of moon map?what mag was you looking at the moon with?

the mere sniff of the moon and my blood tingles (must be the werewolf in me),its got lots to see was you just moon drifting ,just let in it drift by ,there is lots to draw as well ,have a go with some pencils and pens,whatthis will do is make you look in more detail and you when see the delicate walls of craters and the shadows ,of which are at the least breathe taking,the tips of mountain ranges the valleys,not only that but there is a thousand different shades of gray

i like to view the moon late at night may be around 11:00 whens its high and out of the glare a hold curtain folded, in two and put over the head a eye patch of some sort ,squinting is horrible and limits time at the ep,evem just hold in ya hand over the spare eye am sure with time the moon will shine for you

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