The lunar journey begins! Besides the Moon observing, there was also time to look for other objects in our universe – constellations and their asterisms and special stars, Messier objects and even a couple of satellites that passed by - General Session - July 30, 2017.

Lunar Phase: First Quarter (53.2%)
Q-Day: 0

Moonrise: 10:47 AM
Sunrise: 5:32 AM         Sunset: 9:05 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-07-30
Time: 7:20 PM – 9:10 PM
Temperature: 18° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 30 mm + 10 mm
Magnification: x83 + x250
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

This was my first time looking through our 10” Meade SCT and getting my brain wrapped around the mirror view. Without any go-to or other source of mechanical movement, Jerry and I had to manually move the scope to the desired position. We jokingly referred to this scope as the “push-to”.

There was disappointment in that some of the items listed at Q-day 0 could not be seen; they were beyond the dark portion of the terminator, such as Herschel, Ptolemaeus, Alphonsus and Arzachel. However, I was able to identify 2 items on the list for Q-Day -1:

• Montes Haemus – the mountain range on the south border of the Mare Serenitatis.
• Manilius – located on the border of the Montes Haemus.
• Aristoteles
• Eudoxus
• Mare Serenitatis

Most of the 2 hours of this observing session was dedicated to sketching the Lunar X, first with 30 mm eyepiece and then the 10 mm. However, there was time to identify other lunar features.

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Created: 30 July 2017

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Part of this session was also spent looking for other objects in the night sky (9:45 PM – 10:15 PM) - General Session - July 31, 2017. NOTE: Sketch was drawn as seen – upside-down and backwards. This was the southern terminus, not the North. No explanation. Maybe something to do with the star diagonal position, or the side on which I was standing? Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (63.1%) Q-Day: +1 Moonset: 12:45 AM        Moonrise: 2:49 PM Sunrise: 6:00 AM            Sunset: 8:41 PM Location: Home Date: 2017-07-31 Time: 9:20 PM – 10:15 PM Temperature: 16° C Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, eyepiece not recorded Transparency: not recorded Seeing: not recorded

 Mare Imbrium at the other end of terminus with a crater at each end, mountainous border and a large perfectly circular crater (Plato). Southern craters seen were Archimedes with Aristillus and Autolycus adjacent.

Maria:
Crisium, Lacus Somniorum, Nectaris, Nubium, Serenitatis, Tranquilitatis, Vaporum.

Montes:
Alpes, Apennine, Vallis Alpes; couldn’t locate/identify Tenerife and Spitzbergen

Craters:
Alphonsus, Archimedes, Aristillus, Arzachel, Autolychus, Cassini, Herschel, Plato, Ptolemaeus.

Other Craters not on the List:
Alpetragius, Bettinus, Phocylides, Segner, Wargentin, Zucchius.

NOTE:
Bettinus, Zuccius and Segner were observed at a subsequent observation - IWLOP #125 - Zucchius, Bettinus & Kircher.

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Created: 31 July 2017

Last Updated: 05 August 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

During this session, I also considered this a general session - General Session - August 1, 2017.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (72.3%)
Q-Day: +2

Moonset: 1:17 AM          Moonrise: 3:47 PM
Sunrise: 6:01 AM           Sunset: 8:40 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-08-01
Time: 8:32 PM – 10:00 PM
Temperature: 26° C - 23° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 30 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x83
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Clear skies. My first attempt at viewing was at 7:34 PM but it was too bright. Went back out 1 hour later with better viewing of the features. After spending much time sketching, I then attempted to identify features required by the Explore the Moon (telescope version).

1. Tenerife Mountains: Had to look these up online to determine what to look for, and to get a clearer identification as to where to look, i.e., SW of Plato in northern part of the Mare Imbrium. Found.
2. Spitzbergen Mountains: Again, looked them up – a crater diameter to the N of Archimedes. The photo didn’t hurt.
3. Straight Wall: Didn’t find this and suspect will have to wait to next Moon cycle to find it.

Although listed for the next day, I was able to see Mare Imbrium and Copernicus. North of Copernicus were 4 small craters that formed an upside-down and backwards “L”. Using a digital Moon Map, I was able to identify Timocharis, Lambert and Pytheas but was unable to identify the smallest of the four. It was just inside the mare adjacent to Monte Carpatus or just on its slope facing the mare.

Maria & Sinus:
Crisium, Imbrium, Nectaris, Nubium, Serenitatis, Sinus Medii, Tranquilitatis, Vaporum.

Montes:
Carpatus, Spitzbergen, Tenerife

Craters:
Archimedes, Aristillus, Autolychus, Clavius, Copernicus, Eratosthenes, Maginus, Plato, Timocharis, Tycho

Other Craters not on the List:
Blancanus, Lambert, Porter, Pytheas, Rutherford

Details

Created: 01 August 2017

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Part of this session was spent looking at other celestial bodies - General Session - August 3, 2017. There also just happened to be a conjunction of Moon-Saturn-Antares.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (87.7%)
Q-Day: +3

Moonset: 2:29 AM          Moonrise: 5:37 PM
Sunrise: 6:03 AM            Sunset: 8:38 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-08-03
Time: 8:15 PM – 11:40 PM
Temperature: 20° C - 17° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 10 mm + 30 mm eyepiece; Binoculars 10x30 IS
Magnification: x250 + x83; x10
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Mostly clear skies that clouded over much of the sky as the night went on until ~ 11:15 PM when there was just a clear patch around the Moon. Most of the evening was spent on the ETM (telescope version) list. Found tonight were several craters, mountains, and valleys. Very excited about the ones found!

I was surprised that having missed one night of observing due to cloud cover that so many items could be seen tonight. I started with 30 mm eyepiece to sketch areas that caught my interest: Gassendi, Mare Iridium (north shore) and Sinus Iridum.

• Vallis Apennine: Found this tonight and at the Quarter Moon.
• Montes Alpes: Was only able to see part of this range previously but can see it all this evening.
• Confirmed I could re-find the following:

1. 1. Mountains: Apennine, Spitzbergen, Tenerife
   2. Craters: Archimedes, Aristillus, Autolychus, Clavius, Copernicus, Maginus, Plato, Timocharis, Tycho

• NEW tonight:

1. 1. Maria: Humorum, Imbrium, Iridum, Oceanus Procellarum
   2. Mountains: Carpatus, Jura, Montes Recti (Straight Range), Riphaeus (sketched)
   3. Craters: Aristarchus, Bullialdus (large, raised centre), Gassendi (sketched), Kepler, Lansberg, Longomontanus (NE of Schiller), Reinhold, Schiller, Wilhelm (very little rim)

• The Straight Wall (Rupes Recta) was missed before and certainly couldn’t be seen this evening either.
• Crater Mersenius was just on the terminator tonight and couldn’t be verified.

10:44 PM

I switched to the 10 mm eyepiece. Between Maria Crisium and Tranquilitatis was a very brightly lit circular crater rim with 2 rays emanating from it. I asked Dave Chapman about this and he explained they were called “rays” (deposits of light-coloured material from impacts). One ray touched the mountain/mare edge of Tranquilitatis whereas the other went between the two maria and faded into the landscape. The field between this crater and Tranquilitatis is darker than the field between it and Crisium. It had many white-rimmed very small craters or raised cones.

NOTE: On March 21, 2021, I learned this fan-shaped area was Palus Somni with Proclus as the bright crater on its rim. The bright areas within were minor craters.

There were some areas seen that weren’t labelled on the RASC map provided:

1. Palus Putredinus (Marsh of Decay): Looked this up. Area that stretched from the centre of Archimedes southeast to the edge of Mare Imbrium and the Apennines. Autolychus in the north. Apollo 15 landing site!
2. Mare Insularum (Sea of Islands): Located in the Insularum basin south of Mare Imbrium. Bordered by the craters Copernicus on the east, Kepler in the west. Oceanus Procellarum joins the mare in the SW.
3. Mare Cognitum (the Sea that has become known): Located in a basin that sits in the second ring of Oceanus Procellarum. The Montes Riphaeus are to the NW. Ranger 7 landed here.

Feeling better and more comfortable with identifying reverse images of the Moon. Almost makes sense now. 11:30 PM I switched to binoculars to see what I could see. It was then that I noticed Saturn was near the Moon.

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Created: 03 August 2017

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Another night of observing the Moon then switching over to other objects in the night sky - General Session - August 5, 2017.

 Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (97.3%)
Q-Day: +5

Moonset: 4:01 AM         Moonrise: 7:13 PM
Sunrise: 6:05 AM          Sunset: 8:35 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-08-05
Time: 8:48 PM – 9:15 PM
Temperature: 19° C - 16° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 30 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x83
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Good (3)

Windy. Cloud cover increased during the session. Good viewing until the clouds completely covered the Moon. Sucker holes thereafter. The sucker holes allowed for brief viewing of the Moon. One view (from Sinus Iridum to the Moon’s north limb) was only seen for about 30 seconds; this allowed for a rather hurried sketch.

Maria: Crisium, Frigoris, Humorum, Imbrium, Nectaris, Nubium, Serenitatis, Tranquilitatis, Vaporum.

Sinus: Iridum, Roris

Craters: Grimaldi, Hevelius, Schikard

Found Craters not on the list: Babbage, Cavalerius, Foucault, Harpalus, Lohrmann, Sirsalis & Sirsalis A

Details

Created: 05 August 2017

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

I spent som time doing general observations: General Session - August 6, 2017.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (99.5%)
Q-Day: +6

Moonset: 4:55 AM         Moonrise: 7:54 PM
Sunrise: 6:07 AM            Sunset: 8:33 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-08-06
Time: 9:06 PM – 11:15 PM
Temperature: 19° C - 18° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 30 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x83
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Good (3)

A few clouds with a slight wind. Could see atmospheric turbulence at the terminus and limb edges.

9:06 PM: The Moon finally rose over the houses across the street.

~ 10:15 PM: Moon was high enough it could be seen with the telescope. The rays of Kepler and Tycho were easily seen. Surface was completely bleached out; no real features were seen except for a few at the terminator. Attempted to draw Kepler’s rays. The features adjacent to Kepler on the Moon’s rim captured my attention so sketched them next.

Craters: Grimaldi, Kepler.

Found Craters not on the list: Byrgius, Byrgius D, Crüger, Kepler A, Lamarck, Marius, Milichius, Rocca

Details

Created: 06 August 2017

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (60.2%)
Q-Day: +1

Moonset: 12:12 AM         Moonrise: 2:59 PM
Sunrise: 7:48 AM            Sunset: 6:09 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-10-28
Time: 8:10 PM
Equipment: 8” Meade LX200, 30 mm eyepiece with 0.7 image reducer
Magnification: x47
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Good (3)

No wind. Clear skies. I also took the opportunity to show Jerry the Minor Planet (7) Iris (refer to General Session - October 28, 2017).

Lunar Fault: Rupes Recta

Maria: Crisium, Nubium

Craters: Alpetragius, Alphonsus, Arzachel, Clavius, Ptolemaeus, Tycho

Some time was spent in observing Clavius as part of IWLOP #92 - Clavius.

Found Craters not on the list: Ball (sketched), Deslandres, Hell (sketched), Lassell, Nicollet (sketched), Pitatus, Porter, Purbach, Rutherfurd, Thebit (sketched), Thebit A (sketched), Wolf

Details

Created: 28 October 2017

Last Updated: 24 May 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (75.3%)
Q-Day: +2

Moonset: 1:10 AM         Moonrise: 4:25 PM
Sunrise: 6:23 AM          Sunset: 8:12 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-08-20
Time: 9:20 PM - 10:15 PM ADT
Equipment:Celestron 6" Dobsonian, 10 mm + 25 mm + 30 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x120 + x48 + x40
Transparency: Poor (1)
Seeing: Fairly Good (2)

No wind or clouds. Slight haze to the sky that gave a shimmery/shaky look from time to time. 

We were playing with my newly-acquired 6” Dobsonian (gifted to me after the Kejimkujik DSW). Aligned the finder scope with the tube and ‘pushed’ it to the Moon. It provided me an upside-down view of the Moon, but was able to identify Clavius, Porter, Rutherfurd and Blancanus, as well as other features.

Maria: Crisium, Fecunditatis, Imbrium (partial), Nectaris, Serenitatis, Tranquilitatis, Vaporum

Montes: Alpes, Apennine, Carpatus (partial), Caucasus, Tenerife

Craters: Archimedes (no shadows), Blancanus (sketched), Bullialdus, Clavius (sketched), Copernicus, Eratosthenes, Porter (sketched), Tycho (sketched)

Found Craters not on the list: König (sketched), Lambert, Rutherfurd, Scheiner, Street (sketched)

Details

Created: 20 August 2018

Last Updated: 20 April 2022

Hits: 912

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (83.0%)
Q-Day: +3

Moonset: 1:52 AM         Moonrise: 5:18 PM
Sunrise: 6:24 AM          Sunset: 8:11 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-08-21
Time: 8:45 PM - 9:50 PM
Equipment: Celestron 6" Dobsonian, 25 mm wide-field
Magnification: x48 
Transparency: Poor (1)
Seeing: Poor (1)

Warm night. High fog and cloud impeded clear viewing of any object for any length of time. Dave Chapman arrived around 7:45 PM to collimate the telescope. He was unhappy with the attempt to do so at Kejimkujik, so came here to determine if it could be done. Success! Collimation achieved. He also brought his eyepieces, and we tried his Televue Ethos 8 MM. The clarity was wonderful!

After he left, I returned to my 25 mm eyepiece and between episodes of fog/cloud cover, drew the Sinus Iridum. What captured my attention was the brilliance of the face of the semi-circular Montes Jura. The pure white edge contrasted to the adjacent terrain. The shadows of the two promontories were evident. There were two faint craters to what would be the NE, one of which might have been Maupertuis or just the two smallest craters nearest Promontorium Laplace. Needs a further investigation. Did not look for other features due to limited time during sucker hole opening. Gave up at 9:50 PM.

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Created: 21 August 2018

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 827

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

This was a night spent mostly on the ETM. There were other observations made but they were more for my interest than for the purpose of an observing program.

Lunar Phase: Waning Gibbous (87.7%)
Q-Day: -2

Moonset: 9:28 AM         Moonrise: 9:44 PM
Sunrise: 6:33 AM           Sunset: 7:57 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-08-29 - 2018-08-30
Time: 11:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Equipment: Celestron 6" Dobsonian, 10 mm
Magnification: x120
Temperature: 18º C 
SQM: 18.66
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

11:20 PM:
No wind or clouds or dew. Hazy skies due to either Moon or high-altitude smoke (?). Saw the Moon coming through the grape vines on our shade structure in the East. Knew it would be at least another hour before it would be high enough to view.

12:07 AM: Moved the Dobsonian to our unused veggie garden. Although the terminator was clearly seen, I focused attention on Tycho. It was pretty much bleached out with the Sun’s light but there was a slight shadow on Tycho’s western rim (refer to sketch).

Coordinates for Apollo 11” LRRR: 0.673445 N, 23.47307 E Lunar Module (LM): 0.67416 N, 23.47314 E

1:10 AM: SQM: 18.66. Temperature still at 18° C. Attention focused on Apollo 11 landing site in Mare Tranquilitatis, sightly NE of the crater Moltke. To get to Apollo 11, I went from Vitruvius to the craters Plinius to Ross and Maclean to Arago & Manners. Followed the curve formed by 2 small craters (Ritter and Sabine) to Moltke and the landing site. a)     Mare: Tranquilitatis b)     Mountains: Hypatia, Rimae Hypatia c)     Craters: Arago, Maclear, Moltke, Plinius, Ritter, Ross, Sabine, Vetruvius.

NOTE: Looked up the lunar coordinates for the two Apollo missions later.

1:29 AM:
SQM: 18.66. Temperature still at 18° C, no wind, no clouds but still a bit hazy. Decided to focus on the shorelines of Mare Nectaris where if found the craters:

• Fracastorius (no crater edge on it north border)
• Rosse (in the Mare)
• Beaumont, Catharina, Cyrillus, Theophilis (west of Mare Nectaris)
• Piccolomini (south of Fracastorius)

I then headed north back to the Apollo 17 landing site, to the crater Daniell just above Posidonius, then on to Hercules and Atlas. Hercules was very visible, but Atlas was now mostly beyond the terminator.

Mare: Lacus Somniorum

Other craters viewed:

• Bürg (west of Hercules in Lacus Mortis)
• Mason & Plana (SE of Bürg)
• Grove (SE of Mason)
• Williams (E of Mason)

Details

Created: 29 August 2018

Last Updated: 22 June 2022

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

I was working on both the ETM (telescope version) but also spent time in general observing and on IWLOP objects. Also viewed Jupiter and its 4 visible moons.

Lunar Phase: Waning Gibbous (71.0%)
Q-Day: +1

Moonset: 12:45 PM       Moonrise: 11:15 PM
Sunrise: 6:38 AM           Sunset: 7:53 PM

Location: SCO
Date: 2018-09-01 - 2018-09-02
Time: 9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
Temperature: 16º C - 15º C
SQM: 21.07 @ 10 PM, 20.88 @ 10:28 PM
Equipment: Celestron 6" Dobsonian, eyepiece unknown
Magnification: unknown
Transparency: Very Good (4)
Seeing: Very Good (4)

Clear skies to start but clouds came in for about an hour around 10 PM then cleared off to a clear sky again. Because of the treeline at SCO on the driveway side of the Warm Room (best view of the Moon after Moonrise), I didn’t start observing until 12:02 AM. Wanted to find Apollo 12 & 14 landing sites but the iPhone App didn’t cite them. However, I did spend time on the shores of various maria – Cognito, Frigoris, Imbrium, Nubium, and Oceanus Procellarum.

	Also of note was how heavily cratered the southern limb was. Didn’t attempt to identify them at this time as the craters on the maria and the related mountains caught my attention. Found 3 “new-to-me” features: Regiomontanus, Mons Pico, Bliss. Downside to the 3-hour observing session was that I didn’t fully explore the landing sites for Apollo 12, Apollo 14, and Ranger 7. Maybe tomorrow night/AM?

Maria: Cognito, Frigoris, Imbrium, Nubium, Oceanus Procellarum, Palus Putredinus

Mountains: Alpes, Apennine, Carpatus, Mons Pico & Pico B, Riphaeus, Tenerife, Vallis Alpes

Craters (East of Mare Nubium): Albategnius, Arzachel, Blanchinus, Herschel, Le Caille, Ptolemaeus, Purbach, Regiomontanus, Thebit, Werner.

Craters (East Shores of Mare Nubium): Archimedes, Aristillus, Autolychus, Cassini

Craters (North of Mare Nubium): Bliss, Lansberg, Plato, Reinhold

Other Craters: Copernicus (south of Montes Carpatus), Eratosthenes (southern Mare Imbrium).

Tried to locate Stadius but wasn’t successful. Contacted Dave Chapman as to how best locate Stadius. He described it as a “ghost crater”. It’s old and has been flooded by lava when the mare formed so its walls are not too high, and it has been eroded by impacts so it’s a bit camouflaged. The trick is to look for it when it’s near the terminator (tonight or early tomorrow AM?) when the low sun angle will cast it in a more obvious relief.

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Created: 01 September 2018

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 1194

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (14.7%)
Q-Day: +6

Moonrise: 11:11 AM       Moonset: 9:59 PM
Sunrise: 6:52 AM           Sunset: 7:31 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-09-06
Time: 6:20 PM - 7:40 PM
Equipment: Celestron 6" Dobsonian, 10 mm + 25 mm
Magnification: x120 + x48
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Good (3)

Clear skies to start then high thin clouds began to obscure the perfect views of craters. 

Poncelet appeared to have little or no rim on the S and NE. Only a bit of shadow cast on its north and west rims. There was a shadow from a peak. Because of the angle of viewing, Pascal and Brianchon appeared to be joined. The SW edge was rougher compared to the others and a peak’s shadow was seen in both.
	Grimaldi had a high side to the NW causing shadows towards Riccoli. To the SE rim, 3 shadows were cast (peaks?) along the rim.   Going away from the SE rim were 4 very small craters that led me to Sirsalis and Sirsalis A. There was a dark line SE of Sirsalis – Rimae Sirsalis.   In referencing the S&T Moon Map, I realized the bumpy terrain between Grimaldi and Sirsalis was Lacus Aestatis.

Schikard had 2 craters very visible in the SW limb. The NE rim had a rough area between it and Lehmann. Its floor was a little darker than its surroundings.

Wargentin had a crater off-centre that appeared to have a ridge running from rim to rim over or very close to the crater. The rim was more evident on the side of the Moon’s SW limb (not the terminator). To verify the rim, I observed it twice.

Phocylides had a large crater on its S-SW rim and its NE rim.

Nasmyth was barely discernible; its NE rim the only evidence that it was beside Phocylides and Wargentin.

Lacus Excellentiae was seen but couldn’t see Clausius.

Maria: Lacus Aestatis, Lacus Excellentiae, Oceanus Procellarum

Mountains: Vallis Inghirami, Rima Sirsalis

Craters: Cavendish, Fourier, Grimaldi, Henry, Henry Frère, Hevelius, Inghirami, Lacroix, Lehmann, Liebig, Mersenius, Sirsalis, Sirsalis A, Lohrmann, Nasmyth, Phocylides, Schikard, Vieta, Wargentin.

Details

Created: 06 September 2018

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 772

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Spent most father night on the Moon. Briefly observed Mizar and Alcor with the telescope.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (50.4%)
Q-Day: 0

First Quarter: 8:16 PM
Moonrise: 2:17 PM       Moonset: 11:47 PM
Sunrise: 6:55 AM           Sunset: 7:24 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-09-16
Time: 8:20 PM - 9:20 PM
Equipment: Celestron 6" Dobsonian, eyepiece unknown
Transparency: Good to Fair (3-2)
Seeing: Good (3)

No wind or cloud.

No wind or cloud. Although moonset wasn’t until near midnight, the Moon disappeared from our view by 9:30 PM due to our southerly treeline. I knew I had a limited window to see the Moon before it disappeared. My focus was on the NE portion, especially Montes Caucasus. Identified Calippus and noted 3 small volcanic-looking cones SE of the range. Also noted a line of brightness in the floor of Mare Serenitatis; identified it as Dorsa Smirnov.

I then went southward to Mare Tranquilitatis where I found a familiar pattern of craters near its chores in the SW – Manners, Ritter, Sabine & Dionysius. Rimae Hypatia was also identified but I didn’t look at it in detail. Montes: Caucasus, Rimae Hypatia Maria: Frigoris, Serenitatis, Tranquilitatis Dorsa: Smirnov Craters: Aristoteles, Bessel, Calippus, Dionysius, Eudoxus, Manners, Mitchell, Ritter, Sabine

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Created: 16 September 2018

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 736

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

While working on this telescope version, I am also observing and drawing for the RASC IWLOP. At this point in the lunar cycle, I am observing items seen before, but I am now looking at them in a new light. Also took some time to look at Mars and Saturn.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (60.0%)
Q-day: +1

Moonrise: 3:12 PM                   
Sunrise: 6:56 AM          Sunset: 7:22 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2017-09-17
Time: 7:20 PM – 10:30 PM
Equipment 1: 6” Dobsonian with 10 mm & 25 mm eyepieces
Magnification: x120 & x48
Equipment 2: 10” Meade SCT with 10 mm eyepiece and x2 Barlow
Magnification: x530
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded
Temperature: 24° C @ 8:14 PM; 16° C @ 10 PM
SQM: 17.58 @ 8:14 PM; 19.11 @ 10 PM

No clouds and only a very light breeze that gained a bit of speed before the evening concluded. Had 2 telescopes for use: 6” Dobsonian and 10” Meade SCT.

Around 9:15 PM or so, I used the 10” Meade SCT with the x2 Barlow. Thankfully this telescope tracked after I used the handheld device to find craters that looked interesting. Wondered whether Nonius was created by an oblique hit versus a direct hit. I found a “row” comprising Arzachel, Alphonsus, Ptolemaeus and Herschel. What a neat grouping. Because I turned the star diagonal to the other side of the scope, it made my image not only mirror-reversed but also upside-down – go figure! Also found a new crater – Spörer.

In Arzachel, there was a well-lit, off-centre peak and two bands of low mountains. Also saw Rimae Arzachel. Alphonsus had a ridge going SE to NW that showed a little bit of shadow. The west side of Ptolemaeus looked craggy, perhaps ridged. A high peak in the east (adjacent to Ammonius) was clearly visible. Herschel had a conical shadow towards the NE and looked ridged down/up from that shadow.

Sinus: Lunicus

Mountains & Related Formations: Mons Blanc, Montes Alpes, Promontorium Agassiz, Promontorium Deville, Rimae Arzachel, Vallis Alpes

Craters: Alphonsus, Arzachel, Cassini, Herschel, Ptolemaeus

Craters not in the ETU Telescope Version: Alpetragius, Aristillus (+ Aristillus A, B, C, D), Arzachel A, Calippus, Regiomontanus, Spörer, Theaetetus, Thebit, Thebit A. Walter and Nonius were viewed with the Dobsonian at x120 magnification.

Details

Created: 17 September 2017

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 743

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: First Quarter (55.9%)
Q-Day: 0

First Quarter; 7:28 AM

Moonset: 2:34 AM         Moonrise: 12:02 PM
Sunrise: 7:30 AM           Sunset: 7:19 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2019-03-14
Time: 7:15 PM – 8:30 PM
Temperature: 4° C to -1° C
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 25 mm eyepiece with x2 Barlow
Magnification: x96
Transparency: good (3)
Seeing: good (3)

No noticeable breeze, clear skies with high cloud temporarily around 8 PM.

Saw the Moon during my walk from 2:30 PM – 4:30 PM so decided it would be a good evening for observation. I was also interested in completing one or two items in the IWLOP. I included my rough sketch of “Huggins, Nasireddin & Miller” in my ETM logbook; a detailed sketch is in IWLOP #72. Also observed Saussure, Proctor, Orontius, and Walther but didn’t draw them in detail. I then looked at the area around Mare Vaporum.

Craters: Archimedes, Aristillus, Autolychus, Eratosthenes

Craters not in ETM List: Bancroft, Huggins, Huggins A, Miller, Miller H & C, Nasireddin, Orontius, Proctor (didn’t sketch but did locate), Saussure, Wallace, Walther

Maria: Imbrium, Palus Putredinis (P), Vaporum

Rimae: Rima Bradley (RB)

Mountains: Mons Bradley (MB), Mons Hadley (H), Mons Hadley Delta (HD), Mons Huygens (A/H), Mons Wolf (W), Montes Apenninus, Montes Ampères (A/H) Luna 2 Landing site: near Autolycus

Details

Created: 14 March 2019

Last Updated: 12 April 2022

Hits: 1183

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (93.4%)
Q-Day: +1

Moonset: 6:13 AM         Moonrise: 4:25 PM
Sunrise: 7:22 AM          Sunset: 7:25 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2019-03-18
Time: 8:16 PM – 9:30 PM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 9.7 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x248
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

On the north limb, there was a jagged edge that caught my attention. Acquired a large view of Mare Imbrium/Sinus Iridum over the terrain to Mare Frigoris through to the north limb. Beautiful view of the craters on the terminator and those adjacent. So many were so clearly defined! Mare Humorum craters were drawn in IWLOP.

Maria: Frigoris, Imbrium, Sinus Iridum

Montes (observed but not sketched): Alpes, Jura, Promontorium Laplace, Promontorium Heraclides

Craters: Gassendi, Plato, Pythagoras

Craters not on ETM List: Anaximander, Anaximenes, Babbage, Babbage A, Bouguer, Bouguer A, Bianchini, Bianchini P, Carpenter, Cavendish, Cavendish A, E, F, Doppelmayer, Foucault, Fourier, Harpalus, Henry, Henry Frères, Horrebow, Horrebow A & E, J. Herschel, J. Herschel B, C, E, F, la Condamine, la Condamine A & C, Liebig, Mersenius, Mersenius N & P, Robinson, Sharp, Sharp A & B, South, Vieta

Details

Created: 18 March 2019

Last Updated: 03 August 2022

Hits: 860

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (7.1%)
Q-Day: -5

Moonrise: 8:13 AM        Moonset: 10:17 PM
Sunrise: 6:45 AM          Sunset: 7:50 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2019-04-07
Time: 8:30 PM – 9:35 PM
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 10 mm eyepiece + x2 Barlow and x3 Barlow
Magnification: x120, x240, x360
Transparency: good (3)
Seeing: good (3)

No wind, high cloud slowly moving over the Moon. On our return from a family BBQ and bonfire in Middle Sackville, we noticed the clear sky and Moon to the W/SW, still high enough to observe. Set up the telescope in the backyard.

After locating Langrenus and Vendelinus (x120 mag), I used my “new to me” x3 Barlow, then my x2 Barlow. The visible SE limb was awash with illumination so couldn’t see/identify any craters. Closer to the terminator was easier but seeing/transparency reduced the ability to observe features of craters beyond shadows. Disappointment! There was Earthshine this evening naked eye. Clouds rolled in so packed up.

Maria, etc.: Lacus Temporis, Mare Crisium, Mare Frigoris, Mare Undarum

Craters: Atlas, Cleomedes, Endymion, Geminus, Hercules, Petavius, Snellius, Stevinus,

Craters not on ETM List: Bernoulli, Burckhardt, Condorcet, Fraunhofer, Lohse, Messala, Petavius B

Details

Created: 07 April 2019

Last Updated: 07 April 2019

Hits: 853

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

NOTE: This entry was added when it was known the session was not in the original ETM-T logbook.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (42.6%)

Moonrise: 10:49 AM      Moonset: 1:35 APM
Sunrise: 6:39 AM          Sunset: 7:56 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2019-04-11
Time: 10:00 PM – 12:00 AM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 10 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x250
Transparency: Excellent (1)
Seeing: Very Good (2)

Spent most of this evening observing objects in the RASC IWLOP. Some of the objects were also included in the RASC ETM(T) observing program as well.

Craters: Albategnius, Aristoteles, Eudoxus, Halley, Hipparchus, Posidonius

Craters not on ETM List: Agrippa, Godin, Hind, Horrocks, Pickering, Silberschling, Tempel, Vogel, Whewell

Sinus: Medii

Montes: Haemus

Rimae: Ariadaeus, Hyginus

Details

Created: 11 April 2019

Last Updated: 07 August 2022

Hits: 760

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Took this evening to complete more of the ETM as well as capture some of the IWLOP objects.

Lunar Phase: First Quarter (58.7%)
Q-Day: 0

First Quarter: 3:00 AM

Moonset: 2:01 AM         Moonrise: 1:26 PM       
Sunrise: 5:29 AM          Sunset: 9:00 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2019-06-10
Time: 9:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 12 mm eyepiece + x2 Barlow
Magnification: x416
Transparency: very good (4)
Seeing: very good (4)

Maurolycus and Barocius both had terraced walls. Especially visible were the SE sides that seemed steeper than the other sides. Maurolycus had a central peak plus at least 4 very small craters within. There is a flat area in the SW that may be the remnant of a crater it impacted (???). Barocius looked like a rabbit’s face. Almond-shaped face with 2 ears – craters B & C. The floor didn’t appear smooth. The northern rim of C seemed very shallow. The rim of B seems very shallow as if it is disappearing after its impact.

Craters: Barocius, Maurolycus

For details on the observations relating to the RASC IWLOP, refer to:

• IWLOP #050 - Maurolycus and Barocius
• IWLOP #051 - Gemma Frisius
• IWLOP #058 - Cuvier
• IWLOP #062 - Stöfler & Faraday
• IWLOP #079 - Deslandres

Details

Created: 10 June 2019

Last Updated: 29 July 2022

Hits: 907

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

After almost a year of inactivity regarding the ETM, thought it was time to get back at this.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (10.9%)
Q-Day: -2

Moonrise: 7:44 AM        Moonset: 11:48 PM
Sunrise: 5:37 AM          Sunset: 8:48 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2020-05-28
Time: 9:40 PM – 11:15 PM
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 4.7 mm eyepiece
Magnification: x255
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

My goal was to find Moltke and Rimae Hypatia as part of IWLOP #45: Moltke & Rime Hypatia. The Apollo 11 landing site was located NW of Moltke.

Craters: Arago, Atlas, Endymion, Hercules, Maskelyne, Maskelyne A, Plinius, Posidonius, Ross.

Craters not on ETM List: Armstrong, Bürg, Censorious, Grove, Hall, Maclear, Mason, Moltke, Plana, Torricelli. Sabine and Manners were on the terminator.

Details

Created: 28 May 2020

Last Updated: 29 July 2022

Hits: 821

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (37.7%)
Q-Day: -1

Moonset: 1:20 AM         Moonrise: 10:53 AM     
Sunrise: 5:35 AM          Sunset: 8:50 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2020-05-28
Time: 10:46 PM – 11:18 PM
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 9.7 mm eyepiece + x2 Barlow
Magnification: x248
Transparency: Very Good (4)
Seeing:  Good (3)

Viewed Delambre as part of IWLOP #47: Delambre. The crater appeared to be round, and it looked like there was a sharp edge all around the rim. Terraced in the S-SE rim. Delambre D was seen in the north wall and was observed only as a slight discoloration.

Theon Jr. and Theon Sr. were easily located. Both were round and appeared quite deep.

Rupes Altai was located, and it was noted the most prominent part of the Scarp was SSW of Catharina. It was easily seen as it was well lit by the sun. Tacitus, Kant and Hypatia were in the seemingly less defined northern Scarp.

Craters: Catharina, Delambre

Craters nor on ETM List: Delambre D, Hypatia, Kant, Tacitus, Theon Jr., Theon Sr

Mountains: Rupes Altai

Details

Created: 28 May 2020

Last Updated: 29 May 2022

Hits: 877

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (20.8%)
Q-Day: -3

Moonrise: 10:31 AM      Moonset: 10:23 PM
Sunrise: 6:26 AM          Sunset: 8:08 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2020-08-22
Time: 10:14 PM
Temperature: 16°C
SQM: 19.42
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 12 mm 92° FOV + 9.7 mm eyepieces
Magnification: x100 + x124
Transparency: poor (1) to fair (2)
Seeing: fair (2)

No clouds and a light breeze. Because of the trees in our yard, I went to our neighbour’s driveway for an unimpeded view. Used the 12 mm eyepiece first but resorted to the 9.7 mm.

Cook looked like a very shallow crater; the sides did not provide any significant shadows. A crater appeared just inside its SW floor and there was one on its southern wall. Its floor appeared to be the same coloration as Mare Fecunditatis.

Montes: Pyrenaeus, Secchi

Maria, etc.: Dorsa Cato

Craters: Cook, Taruntius

Craters not on ETM List: Colombo, Magelhaens, Messier, Messier A, Secchi

Details

Created: 22 August 2020

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

Hits: 790

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (8.1%)
Q-Day: -5

Moonrise: 8:17 AM        Moonset: 11:43 PM      
Sunrise: 6:30 AM          Sunset: 8:00 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2021-04-15
Time: 8:00 PM – 9:30 PM
Temperature: 2° C
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 4.7 mm eyepiece with Moon filter
Magnification: x530
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

No breeze to mention and no clouds to begin this session.

8:10 PM:
The first target was Vallis Rheita, the second last target on the ETM list for me to find. FOUND! It looked like a series of craters running almost straight north south. The crater Rheita was at its north end; Mallet was at the south end. Identified in this area of the lunar surface were:

1. Craters: Breila, Hagecius, Mallet, Rheita, Steinheil, Watt, Young. Rosenberger was deep in shadow on the terminator.
2. Valley: Vallis Rheita

9:00 PM:

Went more southerly to find Langrenus and Vendelinus plus part of the Mare Fecunditatis. I was able to identify several craters adjacent to these two craters: Atwood, Barkla (I think), Bilharz, Holden, Kapteyn, Lamé, Lohse, Noanubu.

Also had a great view of Mare Crisium and its craters and several other features:

1. Craters: Alhazen, Condorcet, Firmicus, Greaves, Hansen, Picard, Pierce, Shapley, Swift, Taruntius, Yerkes
2. Dorsa: Dorsum Oppel, Dorsa Harker
3. Lacus & Maria: Mare Undarum, Lacus Perseverantiae
4. Promontorium: Agarum

Just as John Read suggested in the Moon at Noon, a smiley face appears when you consider Picard and Pierce as eyes and Dorsum Oppel plus the wall of Yerkes as the mouth.

Lacus Perseverantiae came as a surprise! Thought it was just a “space” between Firmicus and the SE of Mare Crisium. Wasn’t until I looked more closely at my lunar map that the area was identified.

Details

Created: 15 April 2021

Last Updated: 15 April 2021

Hits: 920

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: First Quarter (51.8%)
Q-Day: 0

First Quarter: 4:00 AM

Moonrise: 12:12 PM                 
Sunrise: 6:21 AM          Sunset: 8:06 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2021-04-20
Time: 7:45 PM – 10:00 PM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 4.7 mm eyepiece with x2 Barlow
Magnification: x1060
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Just started to identify where I was on the lunar surface when our grandson William and his parents arrived. As he arrived, I had located Stadius. After showing him the crater and explaining its features, he used the hand controller to look for craters that interested him. They left around 8:30 PM.

Alfraganus was also located while looking for Albulfeda.

NOTE: Discovered afterwards that Apollo 16 landed on the Cayley Plains.

Details

Created: 20 April 2021

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

Hits: 870

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (9.7%)
Q-Day: -4

Moonrise: 8:10 AM                   
Sunrise: 5:46 AM          Sunset: 8:37 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2021-05-15

Observation 1:
Time: 9:00 PM – 9:50 PM
Temperature: 8° C
SQM: 18.56
Equipment: 6” Dobsonian, 9.7 mm + 15 mm eyepieces
Magnification: x124 + x80
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Quite excited when my Moon app showed that Newcomb - the last object to be viewed - could potentially be seen. Quickly set up the Dob and inserted the 9.7 mm eyepiece. The image as not only backwards but also upside-down. How confusing!

Once I had it figured out, I recognized Cleomedes, Burckhardt and Geminus as the 3 large craters “below” (in reality it was above) Crisium. Macrobius was located on the west side of Crisium. I then identified Lacus Bonitatis; there appeared to be a bay or plateau “below” it and Newcomb was beside this not too far from the terminator. Consequently, did not get a good view of the crater. Perhaps I need to wait a while and try again?

Observation 2:
Time: 11:05 PM – 12:00 AM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 9.7 mm + 15 mm + 4.7 eyepieces
Magnification: x258 + x167 + x532
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Moon was getting quite low and there was light cloud cover occasionally. I tried all three eyepieces; the 4.7 mm was too zoomed in and difficult to focus at x532 magnification.  However, even though it was almost 2 hours later, I was unable to get the detail of the crater itself. Therefore, no sketch. Looking at Rukl 25 and comparing it to the view I had in the telescope and later in the very fuzzy photo I took with my iPhone, I could identify A, B, C, J and G beside it but could not describe any details. Montes Taurus was seen briefly as they were on the terminus. Lesson learned – take out the big scope first!

Maria, etc.: Lacus Bonitatis

Craters: Cleomedes, Newcomb, Macrobius

Craters not on ETM List: Burckhardt, Geminus

Details

Created: 15 May 2021

Last Updated: 15 May 2021

Hits: 1098

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (16.2%)
Q-Day: -5

Moonset: 12:29 AM       Moonrise: 9:02 AM                   
Sunrise: 5:45 AM          Sunset: 8:38 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2021-05-16
Time: 8:20 PM – 10:30 PM
Temperature: 12° C - 8° C
SQM: 18.56
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 4.7 eyepiece
Magnification: x530
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

Details

Created: 16 May 2021

Last Updated: 16 May 2021

Hits: 836

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

Lunar Phase: Waxing Crescent (38.6%)
Q-Day: -1

Moonset: 2:32 AM         Moonrise: 11:10 AM                 
Sunrise: 6:23 AM          Sunset: 8:05 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2021-04-19
Time: 7:30 PM – 10:05 PM
Temperature: 12° C - 9° C
SQM: 19.2 at 9:45 PM
Equipment: 10” Meade SCT, 4.7 mm eyepiece with x2 Barlow
Magnification: x1060
Transparency: not recorded
Seeing: not recorded

The Moon was adjacent to Pollux and Castor in Gemini.

Nothing “new” found for this program but did review some features and found others for the IWLOP. It was fun seeing features under a different light from previous observations. The first “re-discovered” features were Vallis Alpes in the Montes Alpes and Cassini to its south. Cassini was viewed quite well, this time with the higher magnification being able to see craters A and B on its floor.

Next was Purbach with its line of craters that broke its north wall and continued onto its floor. Walther to its south also had an interesting line of craters across its floor.

I then revisited Julius Caesar at 9:18 PM. I had viewed it 2 years ago, but the floor could not be seen well at x250 magnification. This time I used a 4.7 mm eyepiece with a x2 Barlow to obtain x1000 magnification. It was then I noticed that the E and SE walls were in essence non-existent. There was a line of small craters across the east wall from SE-NW. There was a small crater on the NW wall.

Details

Created: 19 April 2021

Last Updated: 18 April 2022

Hits: 821

• Explore the Moon (Telescope)

This session was devoted to lunar observing. IWLOP objects were completed and Mars and Saturn were observed.

Lunar Phase: Waxing Gibbous (59.6%)
Q-Day: -1

Moonrise: 3:17 PM
Sunrise: 7:02 AM          Sunset: 7:28 PM

Location: Home
Date: 2018-09-17
Time: 7:30 PM - 10:45 PM ADT
Equipment: 10" Meade SCT, 10 mm eyepiece (+ x2 Barlow)
Magnification: x250
Transparency: Good (3)
Seeing: Fair (2)
Temperature: 24º C
SQM: 17.58 - 19.11

My main objective was to check off more items from the RASC Explore the Moon (Telescope). In doing so, it meant I cold also observe several IWLOP objects: 

• IWLOP #068: Montes Alpes & Vallis Alpes
• ILWOP #069: Aristillus & Autolycus
• IWLOP #071: Walther (Walter before 1979)
• IWLOP #073: Regiomontanus & Purbach
• IWLOP #074: Arzachel, and
• IWLOP #075: Ptolemaeus & Purbach. 

I also took some time to locate two planets:

Saturn Time: 8:05 PM ADT Equipment: Telescope Viewed Saturn west of the Moon in the southern sky. Able to see the planet and one of its moons (Titan). The rings were clearly visible as well.
Mars Time: 10:20 PM ADT Equipment: Visual + Telescope 10 mm eyepiece + x2 Barlow Magnification: x500 Visually, Mars twinkled slightly. Using the telescope with the x2 Barlow with seeing that was not the greatest meant I had a blurred view of the planet. However, I catch sight of the northern polar cap occasionally.

Details

Created: 17 September 2018

Last Updated: 19 July 2022

Hits: 841

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• Explore the Moon (Telescope)
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