Thin Crescent

[The Warthog]

Went out last night intending to set up to have a last look at Mars, and was surprised to see a thin crescent 'boat' hovering in a perfect royal blue sky above Venus, just above the tree tops.

By the time I set up the scope, I was too late for Venus, but got the Moon nicely in view before settling in for about a half hour.

This is the thinnest crescent I have ever observed. I started at about 110x, but found I had difficulty determining what part of the crescent I was observing. (This was with a 9mm ortho.) I went to my 12mm SWA for a nice wide 41x view, and then stuck the Barlow in.

The edge of the moon is not bright, as the sun is at a very low angle, but the craters along the terminator stand out very well. The first thing I noticed was Langrenus. Although it's not the biggest thing on the terminator, it was right in the middle of my view. Moving along to the north, you pick up Vendelinus, and a smorgasbord of smaller craters, including Lamé, named for a French weaver of shiny fabrics (OK, a French mathematician actually, but I thought the other description was more fun.) Lamé is a well formed crater that is easy to make out. These craters are right on the edge of Mare Fecunditatis, which you can't see yet, but a little to the north, between the craters and Crisium is little Mare Spumans (foaming sea, or sea of spit as I prefer.)

Further to the south, the terminator is just catching the edgesof Petavius and Furnerius. A goodly portion of the edge of Mare Crisium is exposed at this early part of the lunation, but the crescent as a whole is too thin to allow for much in the way of identification of features, and the libration is unfavorable too.

That was about it for tonight's observing, as I was finding it tiring squinting at the thin crescent, and looking back and forth between the moon and the Atlas I was holding in my free hand.

Hoping for more tonight.