More lunar X lovin'

[teh_orph]

Hello guys,

I snapped this last night - I've never seen it before and somehow I just got lucky when I decided to haul the scope outdoors!

Skywatcher 130P, RA drive, 2x Ultima Barlow, 2x Skywatcher Barlow, Playstation Eye camera.

The first image is from the double-stacked Barlows, the second is from the Ultima only + a UHC filter.

For those who've not seen of it before, NASA says:

"The striking X near the center of this lunarscape is easily visible in binoculars or a small telescope. Yet, not too many have seen it. The catch is, this lunar X is only apparent during a four hour period just before the Moon's first quarter phase. At the terminator, or shadow line between lunar day and night, the X illusion is produced by a configuration of the craters Blanchinus, La Caille and Purbach. Near the Moon's first quarter phase, an astronaut standing close to the craters' position would see the slowly rising Sun very near the horizon. Temporarily, the crater walls would be in sunlight while the crater floors were still in darkness. Seen from planet Earth, contrasting sections of bright walls against the dark floors by chance look remarkably like an X."

Cheers for looking,

Simon

[JonH]

Nice one Simon and thanks for the background info.