Friday 29 December 2017

Moon 28th December 2017

Two photos, one hour apart, and the Moon appears to have rotated nearly 20 degrees clockwise.

But this is an optical illusion. The reason it appears to have rotated is because we look at the moon at different angles! This is because both the Earth and Moon are rotating anti-clockwise but the Moon rotates about 30 times slower.











Here is a video that may help!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZIB_leg75Q

(first photo, 21:30 / second photo, 22:31)
Distance 230,421 / 230,421 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase / waxing gibbous phase.
207 degrees SW compass point / 246 degrees SW compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 43.4 / 38.3 degrees.

Thursday 28 December 2017

Moon 27th December 2017

First moon after Christmas!

So I chose the nearest moon landing to Christmas Day to talk about which is Luna 13. It landed on Christmas Eve 1966, in the region of Oceanus Procellarum, the only 'ocean" on the Moon! It sent panoramic TV pictures on Christmas Day, and its last contact was 51 years ago today!

Back to my Moon photo, look at how it has rotated (compared to my 2nd October 2017 photo).
1, Mare Tranquillitatis
2, Tycho
3, Montes Apenninus or Apennines

Time 22:39.
Distance 234,323 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
240 degrees SW compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 27.5 degrees.



Tuesday 26 December 2017

Moon 15th December 2017

Last Moon before Christmas.

It was an early, cold, clear, bright morning. Wonderful distinct silhouette of the Moon and Terminator but no detail.

Have a nice Christmas.

Time 07:35.
Distance 250,027 miles.
Waning crescent phase.
145 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 17.2 degrees.


Sunday 10 December 2017

Sunday 10th December 2017

Compare this to the previous post: same time, same place, different day, no Moon.

All astronomers until 1965 had the problem of weather stopping them from investigating space. But in 1965, the Russians launched Proton-1, the first orbital telescope, which worked on gamma rays. The first optical telescope was Hipparcos, by the European Space Agency in 1989.

Time 10:32.
Distance 236,811 miles.
Last quarter phase.
250 degrees W compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 20.6 degrees.

-1 degrees C.
Wind speed 13 mph.
NNE wind direction.
Humidity 97%.
Poor visibility.
Barometer 976mbars.


Saturday 9 December 2017

Saturday 9th December 2017

Snowy Moon!
I was riding my sledge today in the park and I could see the Moon!
The photo doesn't show any detail (I only had my small camera) but at least it's there!

Time 11:12.
Distance 233,162 miles.
Last quarter phase.
270 degrees W compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 10.7 degrees.

2 degrees C.
Humidity 80%.
Barometer 1020 mbars.


Tuesday 5 December 2017

Moon 29th October 2017 & Moon 29th November 2017

What a difference a month makes!

Same moon, one calendar month apart. The Terminator is slightly further left in November and the October Moon appears brighter.

Historic weather report shows 29th October to be "scattered clouds", 4 degrees C, humidity 85%, barometer 1010 mbars, whilst 29th November was "passing clouds", 0 degrees C, humidity 86%, barometer 997 mbars.

29th October 2017:

Time 17:50.
Distance 243,498 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
150 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 20 degrees.

29th November 2017:

Time 18:26.
Distance 232,709 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
140 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 32.2 degrees.



Saturday 28 October 2017

Moon 27th October 2017

Look at how much more of the Moon we can see in 48 hours. The first photo shows the shape of the on the 25th overlaid in a transparent green colour on the Moon of the 27th. It is a little bit bigger so a whole lot better!

Time 18:50.
Distance 249,091 miles.
First quarter phase.
180 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 18.5 degrees.



Friday 27 October 2017

Moon 25th October 2017

Today is the 51st anniversary (1966) of Luna 12 going into lunar orbit!

It had a television system that took 1100-line photographs - about twice the resolution of the old UK television system!

It took pictures of the Sea of Rains and the Aristarchus crater, which you can't see in the photo so I've marked the locations.

We're not sure what happened to Luna 12 but we think it decayed from orbit and crashed into the Moon, location unknown.

Time 18:15.
Distance 251,626 miles.
Waxing crescent phase.
190 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 16.1 degrees.



Saturday 21 October 2017

Moon 5th October 2017

I'm a bit behind with this photo but it was the last time I saw the Moon - over 2 weeks ago!

2 days and 46 years since Luna 19 went into orbit around the Moon. It's a full moon now but if I had been standing here 46 years ago it would be a waning gibbous.

Now:
Time 23:00.
Distance 234,067 miles.
Full moon phase.
140 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 32.3 degrees.

1971:
Distance 221,726 miles.
Waning gibbous phase.
120 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 38.8 degrees.


Sunday 15 October 2017

Moon 2nd October 2017


Very cloudy at 7:15 (first two photos) but 2 1/2 hours later and the sky was clear!
You can see some of the features mentioned by Pete Lawrence in The Sky at Night programme (
@16:00 minutes):
1, Mare Tranquillitatis (where Apollo 11 landed)
2, Tycho (which is only 80km across but has some beautiful rays)
3, Montes Apenninus or Apennines
4, Archimedes
5, Autolycus
6, Aristillus
7, Reiner Gamma (which looks like an eye) (not visible in this photo!)
(first and second photos, 19:15 / third photo, 21:45)
Distance 240,323 / 240,323 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase / waxing gibbous phase.
130 degrees SE compass point / 165 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 11.9 / 24.3 degrees.

The Sky at Night

The latest 'The Sky at Night' is really very good. It's about the Moon - 'Return to the Moon?'

It's still availiable to watch on the BBC iPlayer.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b097xp51/the-sky-at-night-return-to-the-moon

Sunday 8 October 2017

Moon 1st October 2017

Spot the Moon! Too much cloud.

Time 19:54.
Distance 243,510 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
150 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 17.3 degrees.


Moon 29th September 2017

This time the sky's a bit wet but suprisingly you can see good detail.

The terminator is on Copernicus!

Time 19:31.
Distance 248,731 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
160 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 17.2 degrees.


Saturday 7 October 2017

Moon 28th September 2017 & Moon 3rd October 2017

Happy 46th Anniversary to Luna 19!

The Luna 19 spacecraft was unmanned. It lanched on 28th September 1971 and went into orbit on 3rd October 1971 (although some sources say it was the 2nd!).

It investigated mascons in the Maria on the Moon. Mascons are unusual concentrations of mass on a planet or moon's surface.

It also studied the Sun's magnetic field, carried by the solar wind!

Instruments included a Gamma-ray spectrometer, cosmic-ray detectors and radiation detectors - wow!

This year's weather was very different to the weather in 1971. It looks like it was warmer and dryer in 1971. On the 28th, the Moon was very clear but on the 3rd it was cloudy. Look at those photos!

yyyy mmm   max    min   rain   sun
           temp   temp  mm     hours
1971 Sep   19.0   8.2   18.6   157.5
1971 Oct   15.7   6.0   59.1   142.0
2017 Sep   17.3   9.3   88.6   116.8

(source: www.metoffice.gov.uk , 1971 temperatures are mean max/mins)

(first photo, 28th September / second photo, 3rd October)
Time 19:40 / 23:45.
Distance 250,359 / 237,085 miles.
First quarter phase / waxing gibbous phase.
180 degrees S compass point (azimuth) (both photos).
Altitude 17.1 / 29.8 degrees.



Thursday 28 September 2017

Moon 26th September 2017, 19:53

Fuzzy moon!
Lots of water vapour in the sky.

Distance 250,359 miles.
First quarter phase.
185 degrees SW compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 17 degrees.



Sunday 17 September 2017

Moon 13th September 2017

Morning Moon.
9 o'clock in the morning.
Although it's light, you can still see a lot of good detail.

Time 09:00.
Distance 229,847 miles.
Last quarter phase.
225 degrees SW compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 48.5 degrees.


Saturday 9 September 2017

Moon 6th September 2017

Cloud!

Time 23:10.
Distance 247,160 miles.
Full moon phase.
140 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 23.4 degrees.



Moon 5th September 2017

Full Moon!
Howl!

I mentioned on 2nd September how bright Aristarchus was - it looks bright even on the full moon!

Time 22:50.
Distance 242,175 miles.
Full moon phase.
147 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 22 degrees.


Sunday 3 September 2017

Moon 2nd September 2017

Can you see the bright dot on the terminator? ... The Aristarchus Crater!

It's bright because it's young, only 450 million years old. Young for the Moon anyway! So it hasn't been weathered by the solar wind yet.

It's nearly 3 times deeper than the 'Grand' Canyon!

It was named after a Greek astronomer.

Time 20:30.
Distance 247,160 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
150 degrees SE compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 14.3 degrees.



Saturday 2 September 2017

Moon 1st September 2017

The cloud's back!
I got a photo in a gap in the cloud and it made a shadow over the Mare Imbrium. Otherwise we would have been able to see where Lunokhod 1 landed!

Time 21:30.
Distance 249,138 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
178 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 17.4 degrees.



Moon 31st August 2017

BIRMINGHAM on the MOON!!

These two photos are interesting because they show how much the Moon has rotated over 2 1/2 hours.

But even more interesting is that you can see Birmingham! Not the city, but the crater.
It's a disintegrated crater and all that's left are low walls and a rough surface with craterlets! Even so, it's still bigger than the city - 92 km diameter and 1.8 km deep.

It was discovered by the Irish astronomer John Birmingham in 1866 and you can see his telescope in the Milltown museum, Co. Galway!

Time 20:30 (first photo).
Time 23:00 (second photo).
Distance 250,529 miles.
Waxing gibbous phase.
175 degrees S compass point (azimuth) (first photo).
210 degrees SW compass point (azimuth) (second photo).
Altitude 17.1 degrees (first photo).
Altitude 12.4 degrees (second photo).



Tuesday 29 August 2017

Moon 28th August 2017

"Moon illusion" Mystery!

The Moon looked very big in the sky tonight.

It was very low in the sky, only 4 degrees above the horizon.

This is called the "Moon illusion", which is an optical illusion that causes the Moon to appear larger when near the horizon than it does higher up in the sky.

No-one knows 100% for certain why this happens, neither Ptolemy nor NASA!

Time 22:30.
Distance 250,011 miles.
First quarter phase.
240 degrees SW compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 4 degrees.


Monday 28 August 2017

Moon 27th August 2017

The terminator tonight is on... Surveyor 5!

Surveyor 5 landed on Mare Tranquillitatis in 1967 (near the Apollo 11 landing).

It had a TV camera that transmitted 19,049 images.

A magnet on one of its feet detected magnetic materials in the lunar soil.

It was made by Hughes Aircraft, owned by Howard Hughes.

The total cost for the 7 Surveyor spacecraft was $469 million - wow!

Time 20:10.
Distance 248,201 miles.
Waxing crescent phase.
220 degrees SW compass point.



Sunday 27 August 2017

Moon 26th August 2017

I tried using the tripod and a self-timer but it was a faff because the slightest movement meant the Moon went out of the viewfinder! It was easier to hand hold. The tripod needs a geared head but they're very expensive! I think I'll stick to hand holding.

Time 20:50.
Distance 245,708 miles.
Waxing crescent phase.
235 degrees SW compass point.


Moon 5th August 2017

This is another (summer) problem I have - too much evening light - it looks nice but doesn't show any detail!
The second picture was about an hour later.



Moon 4th August 2017

This is an example of the common problem that I have - too much cloud!
But thankfully there was a brief break in the cloud for the third photo.




Sunday 6 August 2017

Moon 3rd August 2017

The Terminator has moved across to almost a perfect arc for three Luna landings, and is pretty much exactly on the site of Luna 17!

Luna 17 landed in 1970, 47 years ago.

As well as 4 TV cameras it had... an x-ray spectrometer, an x-ray telescope, cosmic-ray detectors and a laser - wow!

It's still there and was photographed in 2010 by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter!



!!! APOLLO 15 ANNIVERSARY !!!

(30th July 2017)

Incredible! Not only is it the 46th anniversary of the Apollo 15 landing but also...
...the landing site is on the Terminator and...
...the photo was taken at more or less the same time!

It took three and a half days to reach the Moon's orbit.
It was half a day quicker on the way back!

It was recovered by USS Okinawa which not only served in the evacuation of Saigon, the Iranian hostage crises and the Gulf war, but also recovered Apollo 6!

Distance 248,395 miles.
First quarter phase.
140 degrees SE compass point.


Sunday 16 July 2017

Moon 9th July 2017










22:30

More or less a full moon. Looks like a low sun in the first photo - a bit like my old profile picture!

Distance 250,388 miles.
Full moon phase.
135 degrees S compass point.




Moon 6th July 2017

22:20

Big contrast to the 5th.

Scary clouds moving fast around the Moon.

It looks like smog to me!