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Early morning Moon


Talitha

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I had the scope out last night (evening of the 3rd) for some DSO sketching, and went in at about midnight for a nap while waiting for Luna to climb out of the trees.

Woke up at 4am and went out.. sure enough, there was a wide band of clouds drifting in. 'Mackerel', I think is what they're called.. small and evenly scattered but thin enough to see the Moon through.

The seeing was predicted to be poor but since the scope was already out there, I figured 'what the heck', I'll give it a try.

I was actually able to get some viewing done through (and between) the little clouds, although low power was necessary because of the poor seeing.

It was odd to see the Gruithuisen domes casting small shadows to the east, and Plato had some very sharp shadows extending eastward across the floor.

The magnificent Archimedes bench was reduced to a smattering of bright, wiggling spots but still in all, the view was better than looking at a solid layer of clouds. :D

Deslandres showed some excellent details despite the turbulance, and it looked like Maginus had just experienced a sunset ray event. The uppermost rim of Moretus glowed in the blackness and looked like a ring of fire because of the poor seeing.

I took some pics but they didn't turn out too well (limited to single shots). Here are two of the Wall (Rupes Recta) showing the fault as being sunlit instead of in shadow.

Thebit P was particuarly interesting. During lunar sunrise and lunar noon it doesn't appear to have a dark albedo, but this morning it was definitely darker in appearance than the surrounding area.

The first image has a pointer to the crater, and the second image was taken a bit later and shows a shadow spreading eastward across Thebit P, cast from the curved, raised formation west of it.

In the early days of upside-down and reversed reflector views, the curved feature was called the 'sword handle', and Rupes Recta was the blade. I'm not sure what you call the portion of a sword that protects your hand, but that's even in there. :lol:

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Nice report Carol and I have to say that the 'sword and handle' stand out very well in the images. It's certainly best seen when the Moon is waining and the 'wall' illuminated.

Did you do any DSO sketching? Love to see them on the Forum.

Cheers

CW

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Nice report! Last month was the first time I had seen RR lit from that side. It's usually past my bedtime when that happens. :sleepy2:

I wouldn't have thought of the Straight Wall as looking like a sword, but there you go, eh? The part of a sword that guards your hand is called - wait for it - the guard! :D

Nice pics, too! :lol:

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Thanks Gentlemen! :D I'd heard about the sword a while ago and had never noticed it, but you know how it goes.. after somebody mentions it, that's all you see. :D

:laughing5: You're serious, WH.. it's called the guard???

(Who'da thunk, huh? :lol:)

:lol: Thanks for showing an interest, CW.. there are three DSO sketches in my Stargazrs album and the rest are part of the Deep Sky Archive. (Hit the 'search' tab and type my name (Carol Lakomiak) into the 'observer' box. I try to get at least 6-10 sketches done per session, and there' a lot which still need to be uploaded.. one of these days I'll get caught up. :D )

Some are old (read: crude :)) sketches, but they're all passable. I like the site, because it focuses on the content of the sketch.. there's nowhere to post comments. (Sites which allow comments usually morph into 'artwork' sites.. not my cup of tea.)

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Thanks for the links ,Carol and I'll certainly check them out.

I still think a few of your sketches would draw (no pun intended) a lot of attention if posted in the 'Sketches & Unconventional' section of the Imaging Zone. I would be very surprised to see SGL 'morphing' into an artswork site but I'm sure any comments on your work would be polite and enthusiast.

CW

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I think a few of your sketches would draw a lot of attention if posted in the 'Sketches & Unconventional' section of the Imaging Zone

It gets lonely in there sometimes y'know :lol:

Matthew(SR)

Ah! Bless!

Never you mind SR. You're never alone with a phone! We all appreciate your work and eagerly await the next "Phone-Call". :D

Cheers

CW

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You are doing a grand job Carol, both yourself and WH are re establishing our moon as a prime target of interest, and not just a bright nuisance in the night sky. You have also enlightened me as far as the Straight Wall regarding it's similarity to a sword, with a handle no less.

Thanks for another Lunar lesson. :lol:

Best wishes.

Ron. :D

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