The week of May 1-7 takes us from Lunar Day 6 to Day 12. This week we will highlight the Sulpicius Gallus rilles and the crater Manilius. Try for Tuesday evening, or if the terminator is too close, wait until Wednesday.
Sulpicius Gallus Rilles: [NE/G10-11] These rilles, located on the south-western shore of Mare Serenitatis, are the result of Serenity lava flows that were so heavy that the basin center subsided and opened up substantial cracks around the shore line.
Manilius: [NE/H10; L=9°E] The crater Manilius is conspicuously located just east of Mare Vaporum. Although Manilius is only 24 miles in diameter, it is a prominent Tycho-class crater with terraces and central peaks.
OF ADDITIONAL INTEREST IN SPACE THE WEEK OF MAY 1-7:
Two Frenchmen, Christian LeGrand and Patrick Chevalley, have created a software program called Virtual Moon Atlas that is the finest lunar program available. Incredibly, they offer it at no charge, and it is available for Mac, Windows and Linux platforms (but not mobile devices). You can download it for free from http://ap-i.net/avl/en/download (or Google “Virtual Moon Atlas”). Then click on “How to Support Us” and make a donation to thank Christian and Patrick for their gift to the astronomy world.
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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
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