Sunday (05.04.09) marked the end of MoonWatch week, which for me has been a fun event to celebrate even if the weather has not always cooperated. On this occasion the promising blue evening sky had given way to the fog like veil of cirrostratus cloud later that night, which I would have cursed at any other time if it weren’t for the hazy lunar corona that it was helping to create.
With Regulus in Leo sitting just above the Moon I decided to use the Bresser 10×50s mounted on the tripod to make a wide field observation. Trying to identify the number of lunar objects that I could see at this magnification was also quite fun. Near the southern terminator I could partially discern the Mare Nubium while to the north I could easily make out the giant ray crater Copernicus and the Mare Imbrium. The vast bay of the Sinus Iridium and the dark, lava filled crater Plato were also clearly visible in and around this area.
Looking eastwards I had no problem observing the dark stains of the brightly lit Maria — this included the Mare: Serenitatis, Vaporum, Tranquillitatis, Crisium & Foecunditatis — while the bright rays of Langrenus and the outlines of Petavius as well as Furnerius were all visible. I also managed to catch (with some added scrutiny) the smaller ray craters Manilius, Menelaus and Proclus, all of which looked like minute pin-pricks of light against the lunar surface.
By the time I had finished making a preliminary sketch the cloud cover had grown just that little bit thicker. It looked more and more likely that a blanket of stratus would begin to roll in from the west quite soon so I was happy to have made the observation when I did. All in all I have to say that this short lunar jaunt was the perfect way to end the first MoonWatch week. The second MoonWatch week won’t take place until late October, just after Jupiter SkyWatch week — both of which I’m really looking forward to. In between then and now I’m hoping to complete the Binocular Messier Club list and make some headway with the Lunar 100, which is more than enough to keep this amateur astronomer busy for some time.
[Post edited: 07.04.09]
Tags: Bresser 10x50, Copernicus, Langrenus, Leo, Lunar Corona, Manilius, Mare Crisium, Mare Foecunditatis, Mare Nubium, Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, Mare Vaporum, Menelaus, Moon, MoonWatch, Petavius, Plato, Proclus, Regulus, Sinus Iridium
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Up till now the weather conditions over Central Scotland during MoonWatch week have been reasonably decent. Sunday and Monday night were lost to partial cloud cover while I reluctantly let Tuesday night slip by so I could fulfill a minor, but pressing task. However, all was not lost as Wednesday served up another slice of sunshine and clear skies that brought the stars out to play later that evening.
With the Moon almost at it’s quarter phase, the view in and around the terminator was wonderful. There was also still a hint of some Earthshine, but it was less obvious than my last observation. Looking northwards the high crater walls of Eudoxus and Aristoteles looked imposing against the bright lunar surface while the rugged edges of the Mare Serenitatis and the diffuse Bessel ray just to the south were outstanding. Looking north east from here I could also easily pick out the prominent, almost circular outlines of Hercules and Atlas as they sat beyond the northern shore of the Mare.
Allowing my gaze to fall southwards I could just discern the Promontorium Agarum (a high mountainous cape) as it nestled against the east coast of the Mare Crisium whilst the Palus Somni (a large area of level, uneven terrain) could also be seen standing out against the dark grey basalt of the eastern Mare Tranquillitatis. As my eye’s wandered westwards I also observed the dark silhouettes of Plinius, Ross and Arago — a string of three isolated, minor craters — before I landed on the south west fringes of the Mare and the impact crater Delambre.
As I continued my descent ever southwards, the outline of the crater trio Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina was fairly obvious as they huddled together along the edge of the Mare Nectaris. Just west from Cyrillus I could see the smaller crater Abulfeda skirting quite close to the shadowy terminator.
Drifting across the hodgepodge craters of the southern highlands I could clearly see the impressive Maurolycus and the smaller Gemma Frisius just to the north, etched into the lunar surface like black jet. Barocius and Clairaut were visible just below as were the smaller craters: Breislak, Baco B and the slightly more prominent Baco. South east from here I could also see the contours of Pitiscus, Hommel, Vlacq and the smaller Rosenberger C as they clung to the lunar limb.
Besides observing the more evident lunar features, I also spent the time producing another rough drawing that I could use to help create a digital sketch of this marvelous scene. Here’s hoping the weather holds out so I can produce a few more.
Tags: Abulfeda, Arago, Aristoteles, Atlas, Baco, Baco B, Barocius, Bessel Ray, Breislak, Catharina, Clairaut, Cyrillus, Delambre, Earthshine, Eudoxus, Gemma Frisius, Hercules, Hommel, Mare Crisium, Mare Nectaris, Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquilliatis, Maurolycus, Moon, MoonWatch, Palus Somni, Pitiscus, Plinius, Promontorium Agarum, Rosenberger C, Ross, Strathspey 25x100, Theophilus, Vlacq
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Saturday the 28th of March saw the launch of MoonWatch and as luck would have it, the weather decided to play ball. The conditions weren’t fantastic as a thin veil of cirrus cloud drifted overhead, but still it was more than adequate for catching the slender crescent of the Moon with the 25×100 binoculars before it set.
The view was a truly stunning sight as the Earthshine lit up the dark side of the Moon to reveal the hidden Maria. Conversely the shining crescent highlighted several noteworthy features along the eastern limb of the Moon. The Mare Crisium which was partially visible looked wonderful as the wrinkled edges of the basin jutted out against the dark shadows while the prominent crater Langrenus just further to the south was bathed in complete darkness.
Also on show was the ancient Vendelinus and the overlapping crater Lamé alongside the smaller circular shapes of Barkla and Kapteyn just to the north east of these two battered lunar relics. However, I have to say that it was Petavius that stole the show; the large impact crater revealed it’s tall central mountains in all their glory as they cast a huge black swathe across the lunar surface. Clinging on to the southern rim of Petavius I could also make out the uneven outline of Hase and Hase d while sitting just eastwards of these two rough features lay the silhouettes of Adams and Legendre. Looking below this small jumble of craters I was also able to observe the eye-catching Furnerius but much like Langrenus it was completely hidden in shadow and offered no other detail.
By this time the Moon was now disappearing from view behind the rooftops which more or less forced me to bring my session to an end, but what a session! In addition to making some very nice observations I also managed to produce a rough drawing that I converted into the digital sketch that you can see above. Hopefully it conveys a general impression of the wonderful and absobing view that held me captive for twenty amazing minutes.
[Image edited: 01.04.09]
Tags: Adams, Barkla, Earthshine, Furnerius, Hase, Hase d, Kapteyn, Lame, Langrenus, Legendre, Mare Crisium, Moon, MoonWatch, Petavius, Strathspey 25x100, Vendelinus
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Time, as they say, waits for nobody and when I look back towards the beginning of the month I am left wondering where all the time has gone. March began (01.03.09 & 02.03.09) by bidding a fond farewell to comet Lulin as it started the long journey back out towards the distant reaches of the solar system. Around this time I also logged the open cluster M47 from the Binocular Messier Club list with the 10×50s, but with an elevation of around +18° M47 offered a rather sketchy observation as it drifted through the southern sky glow. I had also tried to catch two other open clusters in this part of the sky: M46 (which is very close to M47) and M50 in Monoceros. Both remained hidden from view, again due to the sky conditions, but I am going to make every effort to catch these two objects before they disappear into the summer evenings.
Besides my Lulin and Messier observations, the beginning of the month (05.03.09 & 06.03.09) also offered me the perfect opportunity to study the cratered surface of the waning gibbous Moon and score a number of objects from the Lunar 100 list. The most notable objects included the Vallis Alpes, the crater remnant Hipparchus as well as the mysterious Bessel Ray and the ancient crater of Clavius. Aside from viewing a good many Lunar 100 objects I also took the time to explore many features beyond the scope of the list and I made wonderful observations of prominent impact craters such as Reinhold, Herschel, Eudoxus, Aristoteles and many more.
Beyond this point bad weather conditions brought things to an abrupt end for almost two weeks, so it was nearer to the end of March (21.03.09) before I managed out, this time turning my gaze towards two faint galaxies in Canes Venatici: Messier 94 and Messier 63. However, the immediate interference of a neighbor’s extremely intrusive light combined with the neck breaking altitude of +41° put paid to a more in-depth observation. I dare say that I will return to these two deep sky objects in the next few months when they are both in a better position.
Following on from this I then spent some time a few mornings later (24.03.09) hunting down three more Messier objects: the open clusters M29 and M39 in Cygnus as well as the planetary nebula M27 in Vulpecula. I couldn’t have asked for better conditions and I easily tracked down the two open clusters but the urban terrain combined with a low position in the sky unfortunately prevented me from viewing M27. In addition to my deep sky observations I serendipitously caught two satellites through the 25×100s as they shot over the eastern sky. After some digging around on the web I whittled my options down to two possible designations: A0-27 and ITAMSAT 1. I’ve never been very good at catching iridium flares or tracking satellites, so I still have some niggling doubts over the identities of the two space craft, but it seems as though A0-27 and ITAMSAT 1 are my best bet.
To finally wrap things up I took in a short view of Saturn and the cloud enshrouded Titan as they sat serenely under the watchful eye of Leo. Upon making this observation I originally thought that I’d also seen the small Saturnian moon of Iapetus, but later investigation revealed that it was in fact HP 54954, a 9th magnitude G class star about 365 light years distant. So unfortunately, no cigar.
In retrospect March has definitely been a celestial smorgasbord, but as MoonWatch week is upon us UK amateur astronomers I plan to spend much of my time gazing at the checkered lunar surface. Hopefully the elements will cooperate and grant me some decent Moon watching weather.
Tags: A0-27, Aristoteles, Bessel Ray, Bresser 10x50, C/2007 N3 Lulin, Canes Venatici, Clavius, Cygnus, Eudoxus, Galaxies, Herschel, Hipparchus, HP 54954, ITAMSAT 1, M27, M29, M39, M46, M47, M50, M63, M94, Monoceros, Moon, Reinhold, Saturn, Strathspey 25x100, The Sunflower Galaxy, Titan, Vallis Alpes, Vulpecula
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From the 28th of March till the 5th of April, the UK team for the International Year of Astronomy (IYA) will launch the first of two MoonWatch weeks. The first week runs from the 28th of March till the 5th of April and will coincide with 100 Hours of Astronomy, a global IYA cornerstone project. The second Moon Watch week will be launched later in the year and will run from the 24th of October till the 1st of November.
Fellow blogger and Twitterer Orbiting Frog had sent out a tweet asking if there was a MoonWatch poster or a flyer that could be used to advertise events. As there doesn’t seem to be anything for individuals or astronomy groups to use to help promote any events that they plan on running, I produced this generic A4 poster that you can freely download and use from this microsite I have set up. The poster itself is a high quality 150 ppi jpeg which can be professionally printed if you so choose.
While I won’t be taking part in any organised events, I am really looking forward to MoonWatch week and I plan on spending as much time as I can getting out and observing our closest astronomical neighbour.
Tags: 100 Hours of Astronomy, IYA 2009, Moon, MoonWatch
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