Clarkson on the Moon....

I felt the cold last night in the observatory ...especially in my feet...

Even though the observatory floor is made of wood, I could feel the chill rising up through my boots....

I think it's time to put on some thicker socks.

Never mind, it was worth the discomfort to capture the gibbous Moon...  :0)

Along the terminator last night Gassendi was most prominent. A friend once commented that Gassendi looked very much like a tortoise or maybe a turtle.

You can easily see the shape of a tortoise, with the crater Gassendi A being the tortoise's head...

I prefer to use the alternative name for Gassendi A .... that being Clarkson.

Roland Clarkson (1889-1954) was a lunar astronomer from Suffolk UK.

Between 1906 and 1954 Roland spent may years dedicated to the pursuit of lunar observing and sketching.

Then in early 1954, in recognition of his many years of  lunar study and sketching, the crater Gassendi A was renamed in his honour.




Unfortunately the International Astronomical Union has since removed the name of Clarkson as it was felt that he wasn't well known internationally....!!!!

What a load of nonsense...!!

I will continue to use the name "Clarkson' in memory of this most prolific of Moon mappers.... :0)

Clear Lunar Skies

Mark.... 

Gibbous Moon, igloos - it's warm by the fire.

Around 8.00pm the clouds cleared to reveal a lovely gibbous Moon high up in the sky.

After training the Tal1 onto the lunar surface, I was able to capture these afocal shots with the digicam:

Through the eyepiece at X169 the central mountain peaks of Eratosthenes, distinctly look like three tiny domes - maybe they're igloos built by the Selenites !

At x169 Clavius looked beautiful through the Tal1 - I was inspired to try a quick sketch.

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Jupiter Observation

I also managed to capture the gas giant in graphite.

It was cold out there in the observatory tonight, half an hour was enough for me.

After making the Jupiter sketch it was time to pack up, and get back to the warm fire in the living room.

Jupiter sketching under a hazy sky...

I was out observing Jupiter yesterday evening, specifically looking for the Great Red Spot, which was transiting the Central Meridian at about 21h53m UT.

I was in the observatory about twenty minutes before that C.M. Transit, with pencil and paper at the ready.

During the observing session, I couldn't confirm that I saw the GRS, but there was a distinct gap in the South Equatorial Belt, which I figured was most likely due to the paler colouring of the GRS.

It was a  hazy evening with mostly only 1st and 2nd magnitude stars on show. 

By about 10pm the haze and clouds finally blotted out the stars. 

I've a few lunar pictures from earlier in the evening to put on, but they can wait till the next post.

Last Night's Jupiter sketch.

Seeing: Antoniadi III

Last night was cold and windy, and the fast moving clouds were also playing havoc with my Jupiter observations.

Tal1 did a good job of dampening down the vibrations of the gusting wind - even at X169 the image was pretty well vibration free.

I decided to make a brief sketch and then get back to the warm fire as quickly as possible to draw up my results.

Here is the finished sketch in pencil.