Lunar crater Gassendi
Sketch and Details by Carlos E. Hernandez
I made an observation of Gassendi on April 6, 2009 (05:30 U.T.) using my 9-inch (23-cm) F/13.5 Maksutov-Cassegrain at 359x under steady (6-7/10) seeing conditions and transparent skies (4-5/6). Gassendi (17.5*S, 39.9*W) is a prominent walled-plain located over the northern edge of Mare Humorum measures approximately 68 miles (110 km) in diameter with a central group of peaks as high as 0.75 miles (1.2 km) high. A complex set of rilles are noted over the floor of Gassendi named Rimae Gassendi. The crater located over the northern edge of Gassendi is Gassendi A (~21 miles (33 km) diameter) with Gassendi B (~16 miles (26 km) diameter) to the north of A. Gassendi is estimated to be 3.6 billion (thousand million, +/- 700 million years) years of age. The rim of Gassendi rises as high as 1.5 miles (2.5 km) above the floor of the plain, especially the northwest rim. The central peaks of Gassendi were considered a potential landing site for the Apollo 17 mission to the Moon, but the Taurus-Littrow Valley was chosen instead.
A digital image produced using Photoshop CS3.
Carlos
Webmaster’s note: I encourage everyone to go to the Cloudy Nights Sketching Forum to read Carlos’ step by step description about how he created this beautiful digital sketch.
Carlos,
The shadows in Your pictures are very interesting. The central cone shadow is super. Good job! 😀
Marek
Outstanding work Carlos you should be very proud of this drawing.
Dale
Absolutely wonderful! I feel as if I could just land right there. Picture perfect! -Andy
Carlos,
This is a spectacular sketch of the showy crater Gassendi. These electronic lunar sketches you create are very eyepiece realistic and impressive.
Frank