|
Deslandres South
7.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Deslandres - previously informally called Hellplain - is a fascinating, but often overlooked feature. With a diameter of 234 km (slightly bigger than Clavius at 225 km), Deslandres is one of the larger craters on the nearside. This low Sun image by Italian amateur Cristian Fattinnanza well shows some perplexing features.
Heavenly Hevelius
6.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Bruno Daversin has done it again! This recent image of Hevelius is the finest ever taken from the surface of the Earth! Ignomiously stuck near his lunar rivals Riccioli and Grimaldi - they ignored all the names he had given to craters - Hevelius is an 106 km wide crater that once probably looked like Copernicus.
Magnificent Greek Eclipse!
5.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Across many parts of Europe clouds and rain blocked the lunar eclipse last evening. But in Athens, Greece, the clouds cleared 45 minutes before first contact and Anthony Ayiomamitis clicked away every five minutes, documenting the changing hue of the Moon as it orbited through Earth's shadow.
Inside Nectaris
4.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Mare Nectaris is one of the smallest mare on the floor of an impact basin. This low sun mosaic by Peter Berry provides a close-up view of relations between the mare lavas and adjacent impact craters.
Bully for Bullialdus!
3.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Here are two good images of Bullialdus - which is best? Its pretty clear that the resolution of the right image - taken with the 24" Ludiver telescope is excellent - perhaps 800 meters! Small craters are cleanly visible on the floor and outer ramparts - these could be counted to estimate Bullialdus' age in billions of years.
Lunar Eclipse Preview
2.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
On Tuesday, May 4 observers from Europe to India, including Africa, have a chance to observe a lunar eclipse. For observers who want to do "serious work" during the eclipse there is actually little to learn about the Moon, but the eclipse is a great probe of Earth's atmosphere.
Serenitatis Diameter Sequence
1.05.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Have you heard of the North Polar Sequence? It is a series of 96 stars near Polaris whose brightnesses and colors were accurately determined as standards for stellar astronomers. There has not been a comparable standard sequence that would permit lunar observers to judge their observing conditions, telescopic performance, visual acuity or imaging limits.
Kepler
30.04.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Kepler don't get no respect. As a bright young crater with a concentrated ray system you would think that Kepler would be a frequent target of observation, but not so. I think the problem is that Kepler (32 km/2.6 km) is just a normal transition crater between small simple craters and larger complex craters.
Greek Letters
29.04.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Johann Heinrich Madler, with Teutonic thoroughness and organization, gave letter designations to smaller and less conspicuous features near a named crater. Craters were give upper-case Roman letters - A, B, C, etc - with A usually being the largest or nearest crater, and letters near the end of the alphabet reserved for battered craters.
LRO - Our Future on the Moon
28.04.2004 | Lunnoe foto dnya
Are we on the verge of a historical restart of exploration of the Moon? In January, President Bush announced an initiative to return Americans to the Moon and go on to Mars. Unfortunately...