The week of July 15-21 takes us from Lunar Day 10 to Day 16.
This week we will highlight the moon crater Schickard, viewable on Thursday night and located in the SW quadrant of the Field Map at P4.
Schickard: [SW/P4; L=55° W] When you look at the moon crater Schickard, you should immediately notice something unusual: Schickard’s floor has stripes! It is dark on both the north and south ends, but there is a wide central strip of lighter material. You are looking at terrain that is made up of two different chemical compositions and is a result of a combination of lighter highland material that was blown in from the formation of the Mare Orientale basin and dark basaltic material (molten lava that welled up from underneath) on the northern and southern portions of Schickard.
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11, the first lunar manned mission, lands on 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
- Moon Crater Schickard - December 9, 2024
- Moon Crater Rima Hyginus – Line of Linked Craters - December 2, 2024
- Moon Crater Humboldt – Cluster of Central Peaks - November 25, 2024