Difference between revisions of "September 11, 2004"

From LPOD
Jump to: navigation, search
m (First on the Moon)
 
(10 intermediate revisions by one other user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
 
__NOTOC__
 
__NOTOC__
=First on the Moon=
+
=A Steep Spot on the Moon=
 +
<!-- Start of content -->
 
<br>
 
<br>
 
<table width="85%"  border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="2">
 
<table width="85%"  border="0" align="center" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="2">
Line 11: Line 12:
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
 
<td colspan="2" valign="top"><div align="center">
 
<td colspan="2" valign="top"><div align="center">
{{HoverImage|LPOD-2004-09-11.jpeg|}}</a>
+
{{HoverImage|LPOD-2004-09-11.jpeg|LPOD-2004-09-11b.jpeg}}
 
</div></td>
 
</div></td>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 17: Line 18:
 
<table width="80%"  border="0" align="center" cellpadding="8">
 
<table width="80%"  border="0" align="center" cellpadding="8">
 
<tr>
 
<tr>
<td><div align="center" class="main_sm"><p>Image Credit: Apollo 15 (AS15-81-11022) and CLA B14</div></td>
+
<td><div align="center" class="main_sm">
 +
Image Credit: Apollo 15 (AS15-81-11022) and CLA B14
 +
</div></td>
 
</tr>   
 
</tr>   
 
</table>   
 
</table>   
Line 32: Line 35:
 
Ever wonder what the crosses are in some Apollo images? They are called fiducial marks and are in exact positions and sizes in the focal plane of the camera so that any distortion in images can be corrected.</p>
 
Ever wonder what the crosses are in some Apollo images? They are called fiducial marks and are in exact positions and sizes in the focal plane of the camera so that any distortion in images can be corrected.</p>
 
<p><b>Related Links: </b><br>
 
<p><b>Related Links: </b><br>
[[iv_115_h1.jpg|Lunar Orbiter IV View]] </p>
+
[http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research/lunar_orbiter/images/img/iv_115_h1.jpg Lunar Orbiter IV View] </p>
<p><b>Tomorrow's LPOD:</b> First on the Moon</p>
+
<p><b>Yesterday's LPOD:</b> [[September 10, 2004|Viscous Volcanics?]] </p>
 +
<p><b>Tomorrow's LPOD:</b> [[September 12, 2004|Evocative Moon]] </p>
 
<p>&nbsp;</p>
 
<p>&nbsp;</p>
 
</tr>
 
</tr>
Line 45: Line 49:
 
<td><p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>Author & Editor:</b><br>
 
<td><p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>Author & Editor:</b><br>
 
[mailto:tychocrater@yahoo.com Charles A. Wood]</p>
 
[mailto:tychocrater@yahoo.com Charles A. Wood]</p>
<p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>Technical Consultant:</b><br>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
[mailto:anthony@perseus.gr Anthony Ayiomamitis]</p>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
<p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>Contacte al Traductor:</b><br>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
[mailto:pablolonnie@yahoo.com.mx Pablo Lonnie Pacheco Railey ]</p>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
<p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>A service of:</b><br>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
[http://www.observingthesky.org/ ObservingTheSky.Org]</p>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
<p align="center" class="main_titles"><b>Visit these other PODs:</b> <br>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
[http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html Astronomy] | [http://www.msss.com/ Mars] | [http://epod.usra.edu/ Earth]</p>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
</td>
+
<!-- Cleanup of credits -->
</tr>
+
{{wiki/ArticleFooter}}
</table>
 
<p>&nbsp;</p>
 
----
 
===COMMENTS?===
 
Register, and click on the <b>Discussion</b> tab at the top of the page.
 

Latest revision as of 08:28, 14 September 2015

A Steep Spot on the Moon



LPOD-2004-09-11.jpeg

LPOD-2004-09-11b.jpeg

Image Credit: Apollo 15 (AS15-81-11022) and CLA B14


A Steep Spot on the Moon

Looking at even the best images from Earth or Lunar Orbiter we seldom get a feeling for the actual heights and slopes of lunar features. But while orbiting the Moon, Apollo astronauts used Hasselblad cameras to take some spectacular low oblique shots and even a few profiles. Here is one I stumbled on that provided some pleasant minutes as I tried to identify the peak on the horizon. The only catalog information was that this image is of the Spitzbergen Mountains north of Archimedes. Comparing this image with the Rukl Atlas sheet 12 didn't help, but when I compared it with a Lunar Orbiter IV image and then a Consolidated Lunar Atlas photo I could finally say, "Aha!" The Apollo 15 command module Casper was actually south of Archimedes when an astronaut (Mattingly?) took this shot looking north and a little west. In the foreground is the south half of the Spitzbergen Mountains. SInce most modern maps lack the Greek letter designations for topography I had to also pull out the System of Lunar Craters catalog and map (that I was a coauthor of 40 years ago!) to identify each peak. Drawing straight lines between two foreground landmarks and the 220 km distant peak (mouseover) I could finally identify it as Pico Beta. The larger peak Pico is not visible because it is directly behind Beta. According to the LAC 25 chart, Pico Beta is 2010 m high at its northeast end. Using my son's plastic compass I measure the slope on the right side as 31 degrees; the average slope of the rest of the peak, from the southwest end to the summit is 7 degrees. Thirty-one degrees is a steep slope for a peak on the Moon. Many interior crater rims are as steep but few peaks are known to be. But maybe the issue is we don't really know the slopes of many peaks!

Chuck Wood

Technical Details:
Ever wonder what the crosses are in some Apollo images? They are called fiducial marks and are in exact positions and sizes in the focal plane of the camera so that any distortion in images can be corrected.

Related Links:
Lunar Orbiter IV View

Yesterday's LPOD: Viscous Volcanics?

Tomorrow's LPOD: Evocative Moon

 



Author & Editor:
Charles A. Wood


COMMENTS?

Register, Log in, and join in the comments.