The week of October 21-27 takes us from Lunar Day 19 to Day 25. This week we will highlight the moon crater Maurolycus, visible on Tuesday night.
Maurolycus: [SE/P11; L=14°E] Let us venture briefly into a region where angels fear to tread, the Lunar Highlands. Plunge in and look for the moon crater Maurolycus. Although the area looks confusing, Maurolycus will be the largest and most conspicuous moon crater in this sector. It is a breathtaking sight under an early morning Sun and should not be missed. Maurolycus displays a rich diversity of different types of features. How many can you see? The central mountain peaks are so tall that they are illuminated long before the Sun finds its way to the dark floor. Also notice how Maurolycus overlaps a smaller unnamed moon crater on its southern border. This flies in the face of the rule that says younger moon craters are usually smaller than their older brethren.
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE
The Orionid meteor shower peeked early Monday morning, and Jupiter was 6° south of the Moon.
On Wednesday, Mars will be 4° south of the Moon.
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
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