The week of February 2 – 8 takes us from Day 15 to Day 21. This week we will highlight the moon crater Endymion, visible on Tuesday night close to the terminator.
Endymion: [NE/D15; L=57°E] This is an older moon crater which somewhat resembles Plato [Day 8; NW/D9] in that it has a smooth, dark-chocolate floor and three-mile-high walls, which cast lovely shadow spires on the flood plain below when the Sun is low. There is an extra treat: 15 miles south-west of Endymion,(about 13 arc-seconds) you might be able to spot a beautiful little concentric moon crater.
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE
On February 3, 1966, the Soviet Union launched the first spacecraft, Luna 9, to soft land on the Moon. The landing site was Oceanus Procellarum, a vast lunar plain on the Moon’s near side. Luna 9 transmitted the first panoramic photographs ever taken from the Moon’s surface.
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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
- Sinus Iridum – The Bay of Rainbows Located in the Northwest Sector of Mare Imbrium - February 9, 2026
- Moon Crater Endymion - February 2, 2026
- Moon Crater Plato - January 26, 2026