1022 - Aug Sept 2005

Present lunation in Latest Photos - recent lunations in Recent - further back try Archive from above menu (this is a rambling website - just rummage through it!)

Skies still light, moons still low in middle of lunation - but keep an eye open for daytime moons. With binoculars you can make out the albedo - light and dark areas. Some bright regions stand out well and the patterns of the dark seas are clear. A simple photo when enhanced for contrast can make some of these patterns stand out even more and show up the areas where the lighter crust has been thrown over the surface.

		04:00 BST (03:00 UT) Being unable to sleep has its compensations. At 04:00 BST I wandered off to spot Mars which was bright in the SSE sky. But hiding in the trees to the NE was the waning crescent moon around 27 days 18 hrs old
		Watched as it rose into a clearish sky. The stars were blanketed by pink haze but the moon shone bright. Earthshine could be seen but no details on the crescent through 10 x 50 binocs other than dents at the southern horn. Crescent showed from about the '10 o'clock' position to the '4 o'clock' As the Moon rose, a star could be seen further north, about 3 finger widths away. A look at a sky chart later showed one of the twins, Pollux, probably in the right position, 3" away. No sign of Castor.
		05:00 BST (04:00 UT) Bright stars in Perseus? fading in the East, Mars less bright, Moon losing the Earthshine, Pollux fading - fast moving small clouds coming in from the north Sky getting yellow on horizon, no sign of Saturn through the trees, large dark cloud bank moving in - left the Moon to the spiders on the roof and telephone connector.
	Never observed this phase of the Moon before

At last - insomnia, clear bit of sky and a clearish head all came together for a binocular (10 x 50) sighting of the 17 day Moon, altitude about 20 degrees to the south. Seeing good. Eastern maria noticeably darker than those in the west. Even Grimaldi did not stand out as much, although Aristarchus was very bright. Mare Crisium cut in half, with the large craters Cleomedes and Endymion to the north. Interesting pale area prominent near the North Pole - possibly the brightness from crater Anaxagoras. A bright ray across Mare Serenitatis from Menelaus and at least three clear rays from Tycho, in the south - one seeming to skirt north of Maurolycos; one crossing the Mare Nubium to the west; and one heading south.

Glimpse of Mars at 01:30 UT in the East above a street light

5 day 15 hr moon in bright blue sky at18:30UT

Proclus (for better views see NE) bright on edge of dark Crisium Sea - and the smaller maria, Undarum and Spumans, showing beneath Crisium, to the NE of Fecunditatis.

Bright area to the south likely to be from 2 small craters, one each side of Stevinus: Stevinus A (8km) and Furnerius A (12km). Another interesting area to explore with a telescope.

Alt. approx 30 degrees - Az. approx 218

Jupiter about 11 deg (about a fist at arm's length) to the east not visible in the sunny skies. If you have a clear view to the west they should make a lovely sight.

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Blow the clouds Missed a daytime close-up	And the lights 20:00 UT