Explore the Moon (Telescope) - April 15, 2021

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

8:38 PM:
Also looked at Snellius and Stevinus just north on the terminator. The more southerly Stevinus had a central peak, quite large actually. Snellius had no central peak and its southern rim looked warn down or perhaps it was lava inflow or ejecta (?).

Identified in this area were:
a)     Craters: Borda, Furnerius, Petavius, Reichenbach, Snellius, Snellius A, Stevinus, Stevinus A. Santbech on the terminator so that only the SE exterior crater wall was visible.
b)     Valley: Vallis Snellius

8:50 PM:
Searched for and found Endymion – slightly elongated with flat floor. NW wall seems to be at edge of higher, flat area.

Lacus Temporis to its south, de la Rue, Strabo and Thales to its north.

Identified in this area were:
a)     Craters: de la Rue, Endymion, Strabo, Thales
b)     Lake: Lacus Temporis

(Note: Sketch from
IWLOP #9: Endymion & Mare Humboldtianum)

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.

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