The last few hours of this decade...

[george7378]

Hi everyone, and happy new year/2010!

I spent a couple of hours outside with the 'scope tonight, and saw some great sights:

Sights

- Full Moon

- M41

- Mars (First light - and WOW!!)

- Two red giant stars

I started out looking at the full Moon while waiting for gaps in the clouds. It was very bright tonight, and I was able to see the smooth peaks of mountains silhouetted against space. These were visible all round the disc - it's great to see the shape of the Moon! I was also able to recognise some large craters, and see a mountain range close to one of the seas (Tanquility, I think).

Although it brought some new sights, I didn't find the Moon as exciting as when the disk is partially shaded, because I think the light was too intense to allow me to pick out fine details, and there was no shadow to allow me to pick out the crater fields and mountain ranges as I was able to do when the fill Moon hadn't yet arrived. Does anyone else find this to be the case? Also, I don't think the features I saw before were facing Earth tonight.

After some high and low magnification views of the Moon, the cloud cleared on the far horizon where I was able to spot Mars. This was the first tme I had seen it through a telescope, and, my, I'm glad I looked. At highest magnification I was able to see it as a glowing, red/orange orb, and the seeing allowed me to focus in to get smooth edges even at 130X magnification. Seeing such a small and solitary object hanging there in such magnification and clarity is really a special feeling. I must have spent most of my observing time looking at Mars. I can't wait to see it again!

As I saw Mars covered by the clouds, I turned to M41 in Orion, and looked for long enough for it to become the usual (but not routine or boring, by any means!) glowing cloud with easily visible contrasting gas tendrils. The four stars of the Trapezium were visible too. I stared to let my vision adjust, and this great object got some well deserved attention tonight.

As the clouds crept over (and I began to feel the cold), I took a quick peek at Betelgeuse which looked great in the steady air of tonight, and I observed another red-coloured star in Andromeda. The clouds had dominated by now and the weather was feeling a little nippy, so I went in to get ready for new year.

I can't wait to see Mars again!

Happy 2010 everyone!

[Doc]

Great repoert george and a happy new year to you too. I wouldn't dare observe on the new year's eve the missus would have a fit. Btw it's M42 in orion not M41, but who cares you had a great night.

[pvaz]

Great night! certainly better then mine! I had to go to one of those lame parties and make noise like a crazy person when the clock hit midnight. The 1st few times ware fun, now I always get the feeling I'm watching a B movie for the 1001st time...

Anyway the moon does show more features when not full. The shadow/light contrast helps see textures in a way the human eye uses to recognize 3d shapes. It's common for photographers to shine a light sideways on an object to show textures and give it a 3d feeling.

As on the side of the moon I'm afraid it was only your impression due to the change in light from your last observations.

Over the millenniums the gravity of the earth caused tidal forces on the moon bringing it to "tidal lock" state. In other words the gravity pull from the Earth on the Moon made it slow down it's rotation to a point where it takes the same time to rotate on it's axis as a full circle around the Earth, meaning, the same side is always facing us.

The moon exerts the same force on the Earth, slowing it down and causing ocean tides.

I once sow the math for this phenomena and it showed that, in a few billion years, the Earth will take what is now 57 days to complete a rotation around it's axis and the same side will always be facing the moon. Then the system will have reached equilibrium.