Moon – Page 48 – Astronomy Sketch of the Day

Pythagoras, Babbage, and Anaximander

Pythagoras, Babbage, and Anaximander
Sketch and details by Carlos Hernandez

I was able to make an observation of the Moon (Waxing Gibbous, 14.1 days old) on August 16, 2008 (05:00 U.T.) using my 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain at 248x and 344x. Several interesting features were visible along the terminator, but the northwest corner of the moon region attracted my attention. This region contained the terraced crater Pythagoras (63.5*N, 62.8*W, 81 miles (130 km) diameter), Babbage (59.5*N, 56.8*W, a walled plain measuring 90 miles (144 km) in diameter, and Anaximander (66.9*N, 51.3*W, 42 miles (68 km) diameter). The central peak of Pythagoras was formed from rebounding of the suddenly molten lunar crust during a violent impact long ago. This region appeared very complex and was difficult to render. I was unable to complete the observation as the Moon was blocked by a tree.

A digital rendering produced in Photoshop CS3.

Carlos

Southeastern Ocean of Storms

Southern Oceanus Procellarum
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Shortly after sunset I turned my telescope in the direction of the moon and was planning to sketch the crater Longomontanus. However that all changed when I spotted a ghostly, mostly buried crater in southern Oceanus Procellarum right at the terminator. For June 10, 2006 at C. Wood’s site – LPOD, you can find a photo of this region of the moon. Superimposed over this crater are a series of dorsa (ridges) known as Dorsa Euclides F. The lava in this region is not quite thick enough to cover all the evidence that this unnamed crater existed. To the east the 12 kilometer Copernician period crater surrounded by bright ejecta at the center of the sketch is Euclides. Just to the east of this crater are the Riphaeus mountains. North of the mountains you will see four of the Lansberg craters with the largest being Lansberg D (11 km.).
The two small Eratosthenian craters at the far left side of the sketch are Kuiper and Eppinger both at about 6 km. in size.
I love these views that inspire us to capture them with a sketch.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9”x12”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-5) and contrast increased (+3) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 18 inch f/ 5 Dobsonian and 12 mm eyepiece 167x
Date: 8-12-2008, 1:35 – 3:05 UT
Temperature: 21° C (71° F)
Partly cloudy, hazy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi II – III
Colongitude 35.8 °
Lunation 10.6 days
Illumination 78.9 %

Frank McCabe

Stand Alone Crater

Eratosthenes Crater
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Crater Eratosthenes rests on the boundary between the Sea of Showers and the northwestern extension of the Sea of Islands known as the Seething Bay. This crater is a magnificent stand alone crater. It is 58 kilometers across and nearly 3.7 kilometers deep. Eratosthenes began as a small mountain size rock impacting the moon at the end of the Apennine mountain range onto the mare basalt. This event occurred 3.15 billion years ago and defines the beginning of the Eratosthenian period. Other well known craters forming at about the same time include Langrenus and Bullialdus.
Eratosthenes is a regal feature when illuminated with the terminator nearby. Its terraced inner walls, irregular rubble strewn floor and central peaks make it a most attractive sight in telescopes of all sizes. See for yourself at the next opportunity.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 9”x12”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-4) and contrast increased (+4) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241x
Date: 8-11-2008, 1:15-2:30 UT
Temperature: 20° C (68° F)
Clear, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 26.0 °
Lunation 9.8 days
Illumination 72.3 %

Frank McCabe

Longomontanus and Environs

Longomontanus and Environs
Sketch and Details by Richard Handy

Sketch of Longomontanus and environs on November 25, 2005 4:42 am PST to 6:10 am PST.

Telescope: Meade 12″ SCT
234X (2X barlow with 26mm Plossl)

Seeing: Antoniadi III-IV and occasionally II.

Colongitude: 199.9 deg

Lunation: 23.48 days

Medium: White Conte’ on black Strathmore textured paper.

Sketch size: 17.5″ x 23.5″

Crater Maurolycus

Crater Maurolycus
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

This is a notable crater around the twentieth day of lunation as the setting sun shadows begin to crawl across the crater floor to the east. The large size (115 km.), central peaks on a flat floor and high terraced walls identify this ancient (Nectarian period) crater as a walled plain impact. The east wall rises steeply above the floor 4.2 kilometers. Part of a previous large crater juts out from under Maurolycus to the south. Central peaks casting shadows were seen north of the center point on the crater floor. The floor is mostly flat and smooth. In addition the floor is not believed to be lava flooded and in the October 2007 issue of Sky and Telescope, Chuck Wood describes a hypothesis that it may be covered with fluidized ejecta from basin formation. The problem with this notion as he points out is that basin formation ended before the Maurolycus forming event occurred. Among the many similar craters in the southern highlands this is a crater that truly stands out.

Sketching:

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241 x
Date: 7-23-2008, 5:45-7:10 UT
Temperature: 20° C (68° F)
Partly Cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 154.2 °
Lunation 20.2 days
Illumination 76.3 %

Frank McCabe

Ray Crater Proclus at High Sun

Ray Crater Proclus
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Bright rayed crater Proclus (28 km.) lies between the highland Marsh of Sleep (Palus Somni) and the lowland Sea of Crisis (Mare Crisium). Proclus is a young crater about the same age as large crater Copernicus. But unlike Copernicus, the Proclus impact event arrived at an angle less than 15° from the west southwest based on the butterfly wing pattern of debris seen on the lunar surface. This pattern can be seen again on the eastern side of the moon several hundred kilometers to the south of Proclus with craters Messier and Messier A (not drawn here). The gray area to the upper right of Proclus is Palus Somni inside the “forbidden zone” where no rays can occur in the uprange direction. See chapter 10 of “The Modern Moon” by Charles Wood, Sky Publishing Corporation, for a more complete explanation. The rim of this crater in the high sunlight was as brightly illuminated as the rays. This crater is nearly as bright as larger Aristarchus across the lunar nearside to the west. Like crater Tycho this is one of those craters that are most impressive at high sun even with a modest size telescope. More than a lifetime of observing and even sketching awaits the amateur astronomer on moonlit nights.

Sketching

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 12”x8”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-6) and contrast increased (+5) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241 x
Date: 7-16-2008, 4:20-5:45 UT
Temperature: 25° C (76° F)
Clear, light winds
Seeing: Antoniadi III
Colongitude 67.6°
Lunation 13 days
Illumination 95.8 %

Frank McCabe

Exquisite Eratosthenes

Eratosthenes and environs
Sketch and Details by Richard Handy

Description: Eratosthenes is the exquisite jewel sitting next to the Hope Diamond of Lady Luna, Copernicus. Consequently, Eratosthenes is often overshadowed by the spectacle of this lunar Juggernaut, however this sparkling gem of a crater and its immediate environment convey some of the major events that dominated the northwestern quadrant of the Moon. From 4.5 billion to 4.2 Billion years ago, a few hundred million years before the period of Heavy Bombardment, the large impactor Gargantuan, first proposed by the British geologist Peter Cadogan, struck the Moon with a force and fury far beyond our comprehension. The possibility that this impact could have, in one single event, reshaped the mean crustal thickness on both sides of the Moon is a staggering thought. Fed by fissures and cracks in the broken crust created by the force of the impact, magmas found easy passage to the basin floor. Over the intervening eons, the great basin formed by that event would eventually fill in with mare lavas to form Oceanus Procellarum. About 3.85 billion years ago, during the period of Late Heavy bombardment (3.8-4.0 by ago) the Moon received another enormous blow to this same northwest quadrant. The impactor, though half the size, formed another great basin, again flooding with mare lavas like Procellarum, to become the beautiful Mare Imbrium. To the east of Eratosthenes, the arcuate sweep of the Montes Apenninus, part of the remnant rim of giant Imbrium, seem to diminish to a few low outcrops as they approach the crater, probably appearing much like a mesa would if you were strolling on the surface. There are a few of these buried massifs on Eratosthenes’ northwestern flanks, although the great circular mountain range disappears in this region only to reappear as the Montes Carpatus to the northwest of Copernicus. There is a wonderful flame-like mountainous formation to the southwest of Eratosthenes, it appears to have been shaped by the fluidized flow fronts from the Imbrium event. Both Copernicus and Eratosthenes are benchmark features, meaning their formations correspond to the beginning of a geological period. Fifty-eight kilometer Eratosthenes was excavated by a 3 km wide impactor some 3.2 billion years ago. It’s rugged walls and terraces show significant scalloping and craterlet battering. The mare around Eratosthenes seemed coated in rays from 93 km Copernicus, which formed 1.1 billion years ago by an impactor 4.5 km in diameter, inaugurating the Copernican period. During this last 1000 million years most complex plant and animal life on Earth evolved.

Sketch details:
Subject: Eratosthenes and environs
Date: 12-28-2006 Start 5:27 UT End 6:50 UT
Lunation: 8.64 days Phase: 68.6 deg Colongitude: 19.8 deg
Illumination: 68.2 % Lib in Lat: -03 deg 24 min Lib in Long.: +01 deg 36 min
Seeing: Terrible most of the session, Antoniadi IV-V, only very occasionally III
Weather: clear
Telescope: 12” Meade SCT f/10
Barlow: 2X Televue
Binoviewer: Williams Optics Bino-P with 1.6X nosepiece
Eyepieces: 20 mm W.O. Plossls
Magnification: 396X
Sketch Medium: White and black Conte’ Crayon on textured black Strathmore paper
Sketch size: 18”x 24”

Luminous Goldschmidt

Craters Goldschmidt, Anaxagoras and Epigenes
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

Crater Goldschmidt is an ancient pre-Nectarian period walled-plain crater that is situated only 480 km. from the lunar North Pole. The floor of this crater appears light in color and little crater Goldschmidt A (7km.) was seen on the southern floor.
Along the western rim of Goldschmidt are craters Anaxagoras (53 km.) and Anaxagoras A (18 km.). Anaxagoras is a young Copernican period crater with an expected ray system that includes some I saw during the observation and included here to the east and southeast. The crater to the southwest of Goldschmidt is Epigenes (55 km.), an ancient Nectarian period crater with a more typical dark floor for this region. With the moon crossing the meridian so low it never resolved well in the eyepiece and scintillated and shimmered in the warm air rising from the ground. All in all it was a wonderful opportunity to view and sketch the moon.

Sketching

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 10”x10”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was decreased (-5) and contrast increased (+5) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241 x
Date: 7-14-2008, 2:20-3:40 UT
Temperature: 20° C (68° F)
Partly Cloudy, calm
Seeing: Antoniadi III-IV
Colongitude 41.9°
Libration in Latitude: +7° 19’
Lunation 11 days
Illumination 84.3 %

Frank McCabe

Six Degrees of Libration

Lunar Crater Barrow
Sketch and Details by Frank McCabe

With six and one half degrees of libration in latitude, the lunar North Polar Region was favorably positioned for viewing from our home planet. A morning sun ray was illuminating the floor of crater Barrow as I set up my scope for an evening of observing the moon and stars. I was not expecting to sketch the moon tonight because of its low altitude. I just couldn’t pass up this opportunity to catch this sight on the floor of Barrow and a sketch was in order.

Crater Barrow is an old worn 95 km. Nectarian period impact dent adjacent to larger older walled plain crater Meton (126 km.). Meton appears particularly large and irregular in shape because of the common lava flooded floors of Meton, C, D E, and F. Much smaller and younger crater B (6 km.) can be seen on the floor of Meton C (77 km.). It was only after I began sketching that I noticed a second ray of sunlight crossing the floor of Scoresby M (54 km.) just to the north of Barrow. Other craters visibly here include: Scoresby (57 km.) one of the younger craters here with the brightly lit rim and just northeast of M, Challis (56 km.) and Main (48 km.) are paired up to the north of M.

Part way through the sketching process I needed to move the entire setup because I lost the moon to a large maple tree. This was a most rewarding observing session even with a moon that tried to hide from my vantage point.

Sketching:

For this sketch I used: black Strathmore 400 Artagain paper 12”x14”, white and black Conte’ pastel pencils and a blending stump. After scanning, Brightness was slightly decreased (-4) and contrast increased (+4) using Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

Telescope: 10 inch f/ 5.7 Dobsonian and 6 mm eyepiece 241 x

Date: 7-10-2008, 1:45-2:50 UT

Temperature: 22° C (72° F)

Partly Cloudy, calm

Seeing: Antoniadi III

Colongitude 353.1 °

Libration in Latitude: 6° 30’

Lunation 7 days

Illumination 49.2 %

Frank McCabe

When a Wall is a Window

The Straight Wall
Sketch and Details by Jacques Thibault

Find enclosed one of my many drawings of the Straight Wall.
I used my D & G refractor, 127 mm achromatic, f/12, mounted on
Losmandy GM8.
18 mm and 12 mm Radian eyepieces and T-V 2X Barlow. (range : 84X
-260X, mostly 130X)
Conditions : Seing 4/5, from my backyard in Sainte-Foy, Quebec.

My working method :

1-Prior to observing, I make an outline drawing with the help of the
Hatfield Atlas. I use the outlined maps. This takes care of the
proportions and locations of the craters.
That way, I am able to concentrate on the lighting.
2-At the eyepiece, I note the shades of gray with Ansel Adam’s zone
system (0-10).
3-Back in the studio, I make a new outline on drawing cardstock (very
lightly, with a 2H graphite pencil).
4-I then use dry pastel to impart the general shade of the drawing. I
really push on the stomp to dye the paper.
5-I give a light coat of fixative to protect the pastel and to make
sure the ink will catch on the pastel surface.
6-Then I use India ink for the large black zone and different
Letraset markers to finish the drawing.
I also use an electric eraser to clear the white and to create texture.
During the drawing process I will browse in my many books on the Moon
and a wide collection of pictures taken from the Internet and other
sources.

I am not trying to make scientific observations. I just like being
alone under the stars, late in the night or early before sunrise :
it’s like walking alone by the ocean. I chose to draw because it’s by
far the best way to relive the experience. I dont make astro
photographs because I dont want to transform what is for me a
spiritual and relaxing activity into a technical marathon. I share my
drawings with my family and friends.

The very best seing to you all!

Jacques Thibault
Quebec.

I saw so many beautiful drawings on your fabulous site that I felt
that I had to send something as a token of my gratitude. Merci beaucoup.

Jacques