Quarter Moon

[nighthound]

Taken through my previous LX200 10" Schmidt-Cassrgrain Telescope with the 20D in prime focus. f/6.3

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Nighthd/Astrophotography/Lunar%20Photography/qtmn.jpg

NH

[JaredB]

Another stellar image of the moon as well. I knew this at one point - but what are the darker patches on the moons surface? And isn't the large white blemish towards the bottom right from a large obejct hitting the moon at some point?

[MGlennn]

Niiiice :) :) :)

[Kevin]

Jared, the dark patches are the eyes, nose and mouth of the "Man in the Moon!"

I'm amazed at the clarity you're able to achieve.

[nighthound]

Thanks Jared, Mike and Kevin.

Jared, the dark patches are referred to as mares or maria. They are lava flats from "many Moons" ago. The majority of craters, rilles, domes etc. are thousands of years old. There are many craters that have visible ejecta lines caused by high impact and some have less straight lines projecting in many directions, these are believed to be lava streams. The age of many craters can be determined at how well defined the crater floor and walls remain as well as how deep they are. You'll notice some craters have central peaks in them. There are a couple therories on this but one is that these central peaks are the result of impact as well, forming like the central area in a glass of water as a single drop of water falls. The brightest and largest debris field of ejecta visible from Earth is surrounding the crater Tyco. You can see it best closer to full Moon like seen here:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y67/Nighthd/Astrophotography/Lunar%20Photography/fllmn.jpg

NH

[JaredB]

Thanks for the information Steve - very informative and interesting. That shot you just posted is a great view of exactly what I was talking about......that large hit and then the "spray" from it. That must have been a pretty good size chunk of space ice to make a mark that big! (There is also, it seems, a pretty good size hit to the left of Tyco as well....)

I did not ever notice the peaks in the craters - but will look for those now for sure. Thanks again Steve.

[Harv]

The details and sharpness are amazing. Great stuff.

[nighthound]

Thanks for looking and for the compliment Harv.

NH