Mare humorum

[David P Osborne]

Spent a very rewarding hour or so with and exploring the Mare Humorum, Gassendi, and surrounding area, Was able to take the magnification right up with 9mm Myriad and x2 Barlow. Able to resolve the small craters on the mare floor and other finer details like Rupes Kelvin. Good views of Dopplemeyr and Vitello. Not really spent a whole session on this region before. Stunning to watch the sun catch the mountains on the edge of the mare and the shadows change over the period of the session. There is just so much to admire and reward and simply become lost in the wonder of our nearest neighbour.

[Relpet]

 

36 minutes ago, David P Osborne said:

 There is just so much to admire and reward and simply become lost in the wonder of our nearest neighbour.

For NASA's International Observe the Moon Night tonight I invited an English-speaking family round.  Mum, Dad, five year-old boy, teenage girl and her French friend and her papa.  It was the first time any of them had viewed the moon through a telescope.  I had set up full disc with a refractor and high mag with a 5mm Baader on an 8" Newt.  Switching from one to the other was a source of wondrous delight.  One of the fathers asked why some bits of the moon seemed to have broken off.  Along the terminator some mountain peaks were still catching the sun while the bases were in shadow.  For all the world it looked as if they had come adrift.  The last few nights the moon has put on a real show here and tonight gave some young people a chance to share your wonder and enjoy an experience they will never forget.  Delighted to have shared it with you.