The week of September 29 – October 5 takes us from Day 8 to Day 14. This week we will highlight the moon crater Fra Mauro, visible on Tuesday night close to the terminator.
Fra Mauro region: [SW/K8; L=17°W] Moon craters in the Fra Mauro region are critical to understanding an important process that shaped the Moon. For this reason, the Apollo 14 astronauts, Alan Shepard and Ed Mitchell, landed just 20 miles north of Fra Mauro. Look closely at Fra Mauro and the three craters to its south: Parry, Guericke, {pronunciation?} and Bonpland. Look for the telltale gaps and gouges that cut through their rims and point significantly back to Mare Imbrium, their place of origin. This is classic Imbrium sculpturing and is a textbook example of how you can “read” the lunar surface.
Can you see the north-south linear features on Fra Mauro, Bonpland, and Parry?
There is one long rille that breaches the walls of all three craters. What does this tell you about the age of these craters as they relate to Mare Imbrium?
In many moon craters such as Alphonsus (Day 7; L9), Pitatus (Day 8; M8), and Posidonius (Day 5; F12) the rilles are clearly contained within the outer protective rims of the mountains, suggesting that they are related to the formation of the crater itself.
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE
On Sunday, Saturn is 4° south of the Moon.
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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
- Bailly – Largest Crater on Our Side of the Moon - January 12, 2026
- Longomontanus: Exception to the Rule About Moon Crater Age - January 5, 2026
- Schickard: Terrain Made Up of Two Different Chemical Compositions - December 29, 2025