Yay, it finally cleared up!

[Talitha]

The 24th and 25th were the first nights during this lunation that I was able to do any observations. An 8" SCT was used and as usual, all images (there will be 6 of them) were taken with a Nikon CP 4300. All are single shots because I can't stack worth a hoot.

On the 24th there was favorable libration near Schickard, and on the 25th there was favorable libration near Drygalski. This image is from the 24th, and shows crater Bailly. Wait till you see what happens to it on the following night.

[Talitha]

Ok, here's Bailly on the 25th.. what a difference a day makes, huh? Bailly is barely recognizable, but now we can see a few craters which are normally beyond it.

[Talitha]

Going back to the 24th, we have Vallis Inghirami and Vallis Baade. Vallis Inghirami is #97 on Chuck Wood's Lunar 100.

[Talitha]

The next night (25th), another valley could be seen, namely Vallis Bouvard. I had a hard time nailing down exactly where this one ran, but was finally able to by using a number of references. Believe it or not, the most helpful one was S&T's fold-out Field Map of the Moon.

Very thoughtful of them to include the libration zones! :thumbup:

[Talitha]

And here's an image showing the libration terminator of the 25th. I have close-ups of the entire limb but haven't had a chance to go through the pics yet.

[Talitha]

Finally, here's the Full Moon from the 25th.

Thanks for reading!

[Kaptain Klevtsov]

A lovely post Carol. Very nice images and the educational bit is excellent. Keep up the good work.

Kaptain Klevtsov

[The Warthog]

Nice shots, Carol! I've seen Bailly, but it is a shallow bas , uh, target, isn't it? I am aching to get my scope out again, and if that comet dims down before I see it, God's gonna be in trouble.

[barkis]

Great educational presentation Carol, you sure are a lunar expert, and certainly getting the message over that the moon has a never ending cache of interesting detail. That Vallis Inghirami looks very long and wide, or are my eyes deceiving me.That could be the case because they are a bit worn out now

Nice stuff young lady, and I hope you keep us posted on your work.

Ron.

[Talitha]

Thank you KK, WH and Ron,.. it sure felt good to get behind the eyepiece again!

WH, you're right about Bailly. I read somewhere that it's large enough to have been classed as a basin but being on the limb, it was put under the category of a crater. Same thing with Grimaldi.

Ron, there's nothing wrong with your eyes... the valley is long and wide.

[SteelRat]

Great stuff Carol 8) Really enjoyed that. Moon watching is brilliant eh? Love it.

Cheers,

Matthew(SR)

[The Warthog]

WH, you're right about Bailly. I read somewhere that it's large enough to have been classed as a basin but being on the limb, it was put under the category of a crater. Same thing with Grimaldi.

Uh, yeah, that's whut ah meant. :insects1:

[Talitha]

Thanks Matthew!

[ash]

Does anyone know the person who runs the clound making machine

i've got enough now do you think he could switch it off for a night ??

or is this par of the course?

Perhaps i could invent a scope that see's through clouds

[trevboyd]

Thanks for those Carol - very interesting and educational. I'm fascinated by the range of stuff to be seen on the moon - I'm going to try some of the "Lunar 100" in an attempt to learn what some of the features are called.

Trev

[The Warthog]

Thanks for those Carol - very interesting and educational. I'm fascinated by the range of stuff to be seen on the moon - I'm going to try some of the "Lunar 100" in an attempt to learn what some of the features are called.

Trev

It's a bit like learning the constellations, after a while you begin to remember the names. I'm still working on the Maria. I have the major craters pretty well nailed down. Until I forget them again. :insects1:

[Talitha]

You're welcome, Trev!