Cheered Up By The Moon

[Jeff-Colorado]

I was feeling glum yesterday here in Colorado and had the good fortune of having the moon is an excellent viewing location (between some trees in my backyard) right when I got home from work. I like viewing on my patio because I can setup in 5 minutes and breakdown in just two. Although it was still twilight, I got some good looks of the Apollo 15 landing site, Montes Apenninus, Montes Caucasus, and the spiral of 6 craters, nicely decreasing in diameter, inside Clavius (site of the mythical moon base in the book and movie, 2001). I love viewing deep sky objects, but in my light-polluted suburban area, the planets (and moon) are much better targets.

I'm preaching to the choir here, but I especially like the moon because it looks different each night at the Terminator moves across the globe, casting shadows along the terrain, revealing prevously hidden, 3D details. My 8" scope resolves amazing detail at about 250x.

Anyway, the heavens lifted my spirits. Hooray for our moon.

[saac]

I know how you feel Jeff.  The Moon was the first thing I ever looked at through a telescope all those years ago as a kid and I've never tired looking at it.  I always see it as peaceful, cold and eternal .  Our constant companion, silently looking down at us through the eons . So hooray indeed for our moon.  

Jim

 

[Alan White]

The Moon holds an endless and fond target for me to.

Many moons ago (pun intended) my dear Dad and I Moon watched together with his binoculars that were his pride and joy,
we had many a happy hour being together.

It set me an endless fascination for the Moon, Space and Astronomy.

These days my Dad is no longer with us but the Moon still is and I often think fond memeories of Dad while Moon watching.
This is often done with one of my Daughters and its great to share, hope they have the same enduring fondness.

 

[Dave In Vermont]

It was the Moon that first beckoned Humans to go into outer-space, and it still does. It's cool that we live in this binary planetary-system.

I wonder where we'd be if we didn't have the Moon.

Dave

[mikeDnight]

1 hour ago, Jeff-Colorado said:

I was feeling glum yesterday here in Colorado and had the good fortune of having the moon is an excellent viewing location (between some trees in my backyard) right when I got home from work. I like viewing on my patio because I can setup in 5 minutes and breakdown in just two. Although it was still twilight, I got some good looks of the Apollo 15 landing site, Montes Apenninus, Montes Caucasus, and the spiral of 6 craters, nicely decreasing in diameter, inside Clavius (site of the mythical moon base in the book and movie, 2001). I love viewing deep sky objects, but in my light-polluted suburban area, the planets (and moon) are much better targets.

I'm preaching to the choir here, but I especially like the moon because it looks different each night at the Terminator moves across the globe, casting shadows along the terrain, revealing prevously hidden, 3D details. My 8" scope resolves amazing detail at about 250x.

Anyway, the heavens lifted my spirits. Hooray for our moon.

It's nice to hear someone speak so positively about our beautiful moon. Like so many, the moon was the first object I looked at through my dad's binoculars and then through my 60mm refractor back in 1980. The feeling of discovery, excitement and adventure that I felt in those early years has thankfully never left me. I still love to observe the moon, sketching its features, particularly subtle albedo features in the lava plains and the apparently featureless floors of its ringed plains, but which with careful study are really quite detailed. Im fascinated by its complex rille systems and can spend a happy hour or more tracing their paths as they traverse the mountain ranges linking fractures around the shores of seperate mare. I like all aspects of visual astronomy but the moon holds a special magic for me. It's an amazing world!

Mike ???

[Mognet]

I always love looking at the moon, even with the naked eye as a daytime object. There's something comforting about seeing it there. Even if it does make some things harder to see at night!

 

1 hour ago, Dave In Vermont said:

It was the Moon that first beckoned Humans to go into outer-space, and it still does. It's cool that we live in this binary planetary-system.

I wonder where we'd be if we didn't have the Moon.

Dave

There's a good BBC programme called "Do We Really Need the Moon?" that goes in to the effects of the moon on the Earth. Basically we wouldn't be here if we had a different moon, or we would be in big trouble if it suddenly disappeared! Don't know if it's available for you in the US. Might be worth looking for.

[Dave In Vermont]

1 hour ago, Mognet said:

I always love looking at the moon, even with the naked eye as a daytime object. There's something comforting about seeing it there. Even if it does make some things harder to see at night!

 

There's a good BBC programme called "Do We Really Need the Moon?" that goes in to the effects of the moon on the Earth. Basically we wouldn't be here if we had a different moon, or we would be in big trouble if it suddenly disappeared! Don't know if it's available for you in the US. Might be worth looking for.

It seems there is no shortage of ways to view this documentary:

https://www.google.com/search?q="Do+We+Really+Need+the+Moon%3F"&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

I've marked it for watching in the next day or so!

Thank you, Mognet! I'll keep this in a prominent place in my Moon-files!

Dave

[Paz]

I've still got the same enthusiasm for moon watching as when I started, even though it washes out a lot of other targets there is nothing else like it for us to observe.

[Saganite]

Greetings Jeff from yet another avid Moonwatcher; always something interesting to see, as you say.

Glad it cheered you up 

[ghostdance]

Great post and celebratory thread, thanks Jeff

Another Luna-tic chiming in here - such an endlessly rewarding privilege to have another world right next door...

And looking at and beyond the Moon really brings it home to me that 'I' am just a speck on this glorious blue dot. But what a dot, what a Moon (and indeed, what a speck!)  

Last night, how lovely was it to see Aristarchus jutting proudly at/above the terminator. Took my breath away...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jeff-Colorado]

Thanks, everyone!

I periodically go up to the mountains with my 8" SCT to view the deep sky. But it is a treat to have the ever changing view of the terminator right from my backyard. I like looking at the Apollo landing sites and imagining the view from the surface all those decades ago. I hope one day mankind comes together to build a permanent base on the Moon. 

[LukeSkywatcher]

I'm really starting to love observing the moon,even with naked eyes. It doesnt take a lot of effort or gear to get there. I'll probably start the Lunar 100 soon. Never actively tried it before.