The week of February 15-21 takes us from Lunar Day 4 to Day 10. This week we will highlight the Apollo 11 landing site.
Apollo 11: [NE/J12; L=24°E] The best time to see the Apollo 11 landing site is around Day 5, or 4-5 days after full Moon. You will find the landing site just east of the crater Sabine. In the close-by neighborhood are three tiny craters named for the astronauts of Apollo 11: Aldrin, Collins, and Armstrong. These craters can be used to test your telescope optics and the seeing conditions. From west to east, the crater diameters are: Aldrin (2.1 miles), Collins (1.5 miles) and Armstrong (2.9 miles).
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE:
The monk Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in Rome on Feb. 17, 1600, for publicly stating that the Earth revolved around the Sun. He compounded his crime by suggesting that “Innumerable suns exist; innumerable earths revolve about these suns in a manner similar to the way the planets revolve around our sun. Living beings inhabit these worlds.”
======================
It is highly recommended that you get a copy of Sky and Telescope’s Field Map of the Moon, the very finest Moon map available for use at the telescope. It is available for $10.95 at www.skyandtelescope.com and on Amazon. All features mentioned in this blog will be keyed to the grid on the Field Map and will look like this: Plato: [NW/D9]
Credits:
Courtesy of Gray Photography of Corpus Christi, Texas
Lunar photos: NASA / USGS / BMDO / LROC / ASU / DLR / LOLA / Moon Globe. Used by permission
- Trio of Moon Craters with Distinct Personalities - April 22, 2024
- Hippalus Rilles on the Moon - April 15, 2024
- Moon Crater Janssen: How New Moon Craters are Superimposed on Top of Older Craters - April 8, 2024