http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ASTR110L_F05/moonviewing.html
Even a small telescope can reveal an enormous amount of detail on the surface of the Moon.
This table provides simulated images and other data for the Moon every Wednesday that it is visible this Fall. Each date links to an image showing how the Moon will look that evening. The altitude column gives the angle in degrees between the Moon and the horizon at 20:30 (8:30 pm) as seen from Honolulu; small altitudes are more difficult to observe. The diameter column gives the Moon's angular diameter, measured in minutes of arc. The phase column indicates the angle of sunlight in degrees.
| Date | Altitude (degrees) |
Diameter (arc-minutes) |
Phase (degrees) |
Comments | |||
| 09/07/05 | 9.0 | 30.6 | 129.1 | ||||
| 09/14/05 | 41.8 | 33.0 | 39.4 | ~32 h before perigee | |||
| 10/05/05 | -8.4 | 30.9 | 146.6 | sets at ~19:45; ~68 h old | |||
| 10/12/05 | 50.6 | 32.6 | 57.0 | ||||
| 10/19/05 | 8.1 | 31.1 | 35.2 | ||||
| 11/09/05 | 53.3 | 32.3 | 74.2 | ||||
| 11/16/05 | 25.1 | 30.9 | 15.6 | ~144 h before apogee | |||
| 12/07/05 | 48.3 | 32.2 | 91.5 |
Animation showing the Moon as seen from the Earth from 07/31/05, 14:00 to 12/31/05, 08:00 (08/01/05, 00:00 UT to 12/31/03, 18:00 UT). Besides the obvious changes in phase, this animation also shows the variation in the Moon's apparent diameter and the ``wobbling'' motion known as libration. Generated using Solar System Simulator (Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech).
Free software which simulates the appearance of the Moon at any time. You can zoom in, scan across the surface for interesting formations, and click on specific features to display names and other information. This software is only available for Windows operating systems, but it's so much fun that I keep a copy of Windows on my laptop so I can use it.
Resources for amateur and professional lunar observers. Has links to ongoing observing projects.
A collection of articles on the Moon from Sky and Telescope.
Chart to be used when sketching the whole Moon.
A series of Moon photographs taken roughly once every three days.
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Joshua E. Barnes
(barnes@ifa.hawaii.edu)
Last modified: October 19, 2005 http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~barnes/ASTR110L_F05/moonviewing.html |
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