Last before full moon

[The Warthog]

I've put my scope away for the moment, as we expect rain tomorrow, and heavy rain on Wednesday, and the House, M.D. season premier is on tomorrow night.

The moon was nice and high tonight, about 30-35 degrees, and the night was about 20 degrees, and dry. The transparency was poor, but the seeing was fair, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I used a tape recorder to make my notes tonight, as I am getting tired of trying to remember everything I saw when I get back inside.

I started out with my 7.5mm SWA (133x.) I looked first at the Schickard area, looking for atmospheric swirling, but there wasn't much going on. Down towards the terminator is Inghirami, which looks like a pucker, with a bright, oval rim, and surrounded by mountain peaks that put me in mind of a b&w photo of a spruce forest at dawn. I perceived a couple of clefts running towards it from the NW and this is Vallis Inghirami.

Wargentin, which was behind the terminator last night, is faint, but answers its description of a large, lava filled crater, with a flat, high floor.

South of Schickard and Phocylides is a very large crater, tight on the limb, but because of a favorable libration, obvious. My first guess was that this was Bailly, and this turned out to be correct. There is a lot of detail on the floor. This is said to be hard to see in some texts, but the libration has turned it right towards us.

I got Sirsalis, with a high degree of certainty, but not the associated Rima. The things I thought might be the Rima were pointing in the wrong direction.

Went to Aristarchus, and went north in search of Mons Rumker. I went too far, and picked up Pythagorus, at first mistaking it for Babbage, but Babbage is in front of Pythagoras, and more or less ruined. I picked out J. Herschel at the same time. Slid back south to Sinus Iridium, and picked out Mairan, which I hadn't looked for last night, and went west until I picked up a dome shapish sorta thing, which has to be Mons Rumker.

I came back inside for a while, to check VMA, as Ridpath's map isn't very good on the edges of the moon.

I headed out about 3/4 of an hour later, and took another look at Rumker, using the 4.3mm (233x) ep. I picked it up fairly easily at this power, with just a little grunting. Then I decided to come inside and write this.

Hope I'm not boring you. I really am having fun out here. I now have 32 of the 100, but I missed a couple tonight.

[lunator]

WH nice report

I had a look at the moon last night through the grab & go set up.

I have to peer at it between the trees & clouds.

Aristarchus and Valles Schoteri were both very clear at x33 (18mm ortho)

Won't be long before you have the 100

Cheers

Ian

[Talitha]

..put me in mind of a b&w photo of a spruce forest at dawn.

Beautiful description!

Thanks for your reports WH, and don't worry.. you're not boring us.