Xmas Telescope

This is my Christmas present, a Skywatcher BKP-1145-EQ1 Reflector telescope. It has two interchangeable eyepieces (25mm and 10mm), a Barrow Lens, a Red Dot Finder and a motor drive. Classic! Good photos of the Moon, here we come!

...but with the weather at the moment, I would have been better off with a Grey Cloudwatcher!

Moon 24th December 2018

At the time that the photo was taken, according to NASA's Santa Tracker, Father Christmas was heading from the Balkans into Italy! Did you see him?

Time 20:50.
Distance 249,915 miles.
Waning gibbous phase.
85 degrees E compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 20.7 degrees.

Moon 22nd December 2018

It was too cloudy for the winter solstice (the 21st)...
The day after (the 22nd), still cloudy so a great 'arty' photo...
And it cleared up later, so a proper detailed photo!
And it was a full moon, so HOWWWLLLLLLL!

Time 18:30 / 21:00.
Distance 226,230 / 226,230 miles.
Full moon / full moon phase.
80 / 110 degrees E / E compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 19.3 / 41.0 degrees.

Moon 14th December 2018

The terminator is right on the 1971 Apollo 15 landing site, on the Hadley Rille in the Apennine region!

This was the first mission where the Lunar Roving Vehicle (the "Moon buggy") was used. Even though its top speed was meant to be about 8 mph, Eugene Cernan later hit 11.2 mph, making him the unofficial lunar land-speed record holder!

A recording of the Apollo 15 launch was included in the "Sounds of Earth" on Voyager 1, which is now 13.5 billion miles from Earth.

Time 16:45.
Distance 249,915 miles.
Waxing crescent phase.
160 degrees S compass point (azimuth).
Altitude 25.6 degrees.