Best time to look for Hadley Rille

[billyharris72]

Hi all:

I've been thinking for a while I'd like to try to hunt down Hadley Rille but I've never had any luck in the past and have a couple of questions:

1) I have an 8 inch Dob and a 6 inch Mak on an HEQ5. Which is likely to be the better tool for the job? Virtual Moon Atlas seems to suggest 200mm is a minimum aperture but having an equatorial mount makes a lot of difference when observing at high magnification. Wanted to check what people on here think. Another option would be to mount the Dob tube on the HEQ5.

2) What would be a realistic level of magnification to aim for?

3) What's the most favourable time to look (either in terms of days after new moon or selenographic colongitude)? I'm guessing with a tricky target like this that timing makes a big difference.

Thoughts and ideas very much appreciated.

Billy.

[John]

I've seen the Hadley Rille quite often with my scopes down to and including the ED120 refractor. I find that 200x - 250x is good for this target but I guess it can be spotted at 150x or so. The illiumination tonight would be good or perhaps tomorrow. Once the area moves too far from the terminator the length of the rille that you can see clearly reduces.

This image shows the Apollo 15 landing site (yellow spot). I've managed to pick out the rille sections that were visited and can just about glimpse the nearby North Complex craters with my 12" dob.

 

[billyharris72]

Thanks for the advice John - with the clouds over here it doesn't look like I'm going to catch it this month, but good to know it's a viable target with the kit I have.

Billy.

[Moonshane]

Just saw some of It now with my 120ed

[Moonshane]

Heads up. Best view I ever had of Hadley rille right now. Whole length easy in 120ed at 150x

[John]

Great stuff Shane !

Cloudy here tonight after a promising afternoon

 

[Moonshane]

Annoying that after another half hour clouds rolled In here too. Got my first hints of Vallis Alpes rille too. Plato craterlets obvious too although clouds scuppered a meaningful count.

[John]

2 hours ago, Moonshane said:

Annoying that after another half hour clouds rolled In here too. Got my first hints of Vallis Alpes rille too. Plato craterlets obvious too although clouds scuppered a meaningful count.

When you feel like a challenge Shane, see how many of these you can spot

http://www.cloudynights.com/topic/34841-guide-to-plato-craterlets/

 

[billyharris72]

Well, after a couple of months waiting for the right phase and the right conditions I finally saw Hadley Rille on Sunday night, with the Skymax 150. Seeing was superb - the scope didn't struggle at all at x300, which was a pleasant surprise - and I was able to follow the whole of the feature without difficulty. Once I'd seen it it was actually visible down at x100, albeit partially and with difficulty.

It really is a lovely part of the Moon to observe - the Mare Imbrium just has an embarrassment of riches in that department.

Billy.

[Astro Imp]

Well done Billy, this is still one on my "to see list".