July 19, 2009

Not for Telescopes

image by Jim Philips, Isle of Palms, South Carolina

One of the most classic dome fields on the Moon is near the 14 km wide simple crater Hortensius, west of Copernicus. Four small domes just north of the crater display the classic morphology of a flattened hemisphere topped with a small collapse pit. A fifth very flat dome is at the SW end of the cluster, and a more amorphous, pit-less lump is at the NE end. The similar sized crater near the top-left is Milichius, which has a broader, pitted dome to its west. Detection of these domes at the eyepiece seems much harder than capturing them on an image, and always gives me a sense of elation.

Chuck Wood

Unrelated Note A new video of Apollo reminiscences includes Moon expert Ewen Whitaker.

Technical Details
July 16, 2009. TEC 200 F/8 @ F/40.

Related Links
Rükl plate 30

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