Peculiar Messier Craterlets

[cloudsweeper]

Felt a bit lazy last night, but just couldn't resist the Moon - waxing, almost first quarter.

At either side of x100, the views were just spectacular - sharp, clear, full of "texture".

But the night before, I saw the ejecta rays going west from craterlet Messier A, and wanted a closer look at the craterlet itself.  (In Mare Fecunditatis.)

The close, parallel rays (butterfly wing pattern) are the result of an oblique impact, and lab tests have apparently confirmed this phenomenon.

So I upped the mag, and at x185 could clearly see that Messier A and Messier (just slightly to the east) were both curved as usual on their eastern edges, but distinctly pointed towards the west.

What a delight the Moon is - a vast resource for observation and discovery!

Doug.

[Astro Imp]

Nice report Doug. 

The moon is a wonderful object to spend time getting to know, always something to grab the attention.

[johnfosteruk]

Great report Doug. The Messier pair are fascinating. 

[Knighty2112]

53 minutes ago, cloudsweeper said:

Felt a bit lazy last night, but just couldn't resist the Moon - waxing, almost first quarter.

At either side of x100, the views were just spectacular - sharp, clear, full of "texture".

But the night before, I saw the ejecta rays going west from craterlet Messier A, and wanted a closer look at the craterlet itself.  (In Mare Fecunditatis.)

The close, parallel rays (butterfly wing pattern) are the result of an oblique impact, and lab tests have apparently confirmed this phenomenon.

So I upped the mag, and at x185 could clearly see that Messier A and Messier (just slightly to the east) were both curved as usual on their eastern edges, but distinctly pointed towards the west.

What a delight the Moon is - a vast resource for observation and discovery!

Doug.

Good report Doug. I'll have to check Messier A out myself at some point. Thanks for letting us know of it.  

[Pondus]

Good report!

Had a look at the  Messier rays myself last night, much because of @John`s report of them last time the moon was around.

Also the Ariadaeus rille, the crack in the moon, or at least the most eastern part of it was a Nice view.

Managed to spot Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins craterlets, making it easy to at least locate where the Apollo 11 base is.

Most of the observation done at ~225x  8"dob

 

Rune

[Nathan UK]

Nice report Doug, the moon is always a treat

[niallk]

14 hours ago, cloudsweeper said:

Felt a bit lazy last night, but just couldn't resist the Moon - waxing, almost first quarter.

At either side of x100, the views were just spectacular - sharp, clear, full of "texture".

But the night before, I saw the ejecta rays going west from craterlet Messier A, and wanted a closer look at the craterlet itself.  (In Mare Fecunditatis.)

The close, parallel rays (butterfly wing pattern) are the result of an oblique impact, and lab tests have apparently confirmed this phenomenon.

So I upped the mag, and at x185 could clearly see that Messier A and Messier (just slightly to the east) were both curved as usual on their eastern edges, but distinctly pointed towards the west.

What a delight the Moon is - a vast resource for observation and discovery!

Doug.

Great post Doug!

The Messier craters are spectacular, aren't they!  I also like your last sentence: I hope to get far more familiar with the moon over the summer months: no putting my dob away due to the absence of dark skies

[Paul73]

Damn right! 

Summer is the only observing we get without risking frost bite.

A bottle of claret, nice cigar and a mooch around the brighter targets.???

I had a nice run on the moon and Jupiter last night. Too lazy to haul out the big Dob, preferring an ED120. What it lacks in image scale, it makes up for in clarity. No specific targets as I was conducting the first part of my 6mm Delos / 6mm SLV comparison.

Paul