Lunar observations from August 25th

[Talitha]

On Saturday night the lunar terminator extended from Peary in the north to Bailly in the south, and only 4% of the Moon was still in shadow.

Pythagoras was the dominant feature on the NW limb. Its interior was still shadow-filled, but sunlight illuminated the tip of the central peak and it looked like a tiny marshmallow floating in a cup of cocoa. The tip of the central peak cast a small triangular shadow onto the sunlit western wall of the crater.

One of my favorite lunar features is Mons Rumker, which is a cluster of lunar domes and not an actual mountain as the name implies. Sunrise over Mons Rumker had occurred about 12 hours before my session began, but I could still see shadows in the pitted domes.. a nice contrast to the smoothness of Oceanus Procellarum.

South of the lunar equator just beyond the lava flow of Oceanus Procellarum lies Rima Sirsalis. A rima is a flat-bottomed 'crack' in the lunar surface. More than a crack really, but not quite a valley. Here's a lunar orbiter close-up of the area. There are a lot of these fracture systems on the Moon, and the best time to see them is lunar sunrise or lunar sunset when there's a low light angle.

A bit further down the terminator on the SW limb is two-toned crater Schickard. It looks that way because the dark lava floor was partially sprinkled by lighter ejecta thrown from the Mare Orientale impact.

Just southwest of Schickard is Wargentin, quite an interesting crater. Whereas most flooded craters look like smooth-bottomed shallow dishes, Wargentin was filled to the brim with lava and looks like a plateau.

Here are some images taken on Saturday night.. thanks for letting me share my eyepiece with you.

:moon:

[blinky]

Thankyou for sharing! A very interesting read.

[Talitha]

You're welcome, it was a lot of fun, too.

[The Warthog]

Great report and pics! I'll be looking for more.

[FLO]

Great report indeed.

Also followed the links to your pix and sketches - excellent 8)

Keep um coming

[Grant]

Fantastic report! Very interesting to read and I love the way you've put the full moon image in with the closeups detailing the locations.. very useful!

Thanks for sharing!

[Kain]

Very ncie report, makes a nice change seeing a lunar report in so much detail.

You have inspired me to do something like this myself! Thank you!!

Kain

[FLO]

You have inspired me to do something like this myself! Thank you!!

The ultimate indicator of a good report 8)

[Andrew*]

indeed a really nice report and excellent images too.

Andrew

[Talitha]

Thank you, everyone!

[jonifive]

Fantastic and very informative report Carol. Glad you didn't wait too long

The dual photos are a great idea, it really gives us newbs (ie ...me) a sense of perspective. CW pointed out in another post that Schickard looks just like a pocket watch! It really does in your photo.

Thank you my lovely,

Jonathen

[Cloudwatcher]

CW pointed out in another post that Schickard looks just like a pocket watch! It really does in your photo.

Jonathen

Actually JV, it's Gassandi that looks like the pocket watch. Although thinking about it if you look at Schickard with a Dali eye you could be right! :shock:

I do however agree wholeheartedly with your comments on Talitha's work, she has a great talent.

CW

[Talitha]

Thank you, Jonathen and CW!

Gotta love Lady Luna! :love7:

[jonifive]

it's Gassandi that looks like the pocket watch

Note to self........must learn to type correct name into computer!!!!!! :?