Astronomy App for
your Computer 2012
Our
September 2011 AL Reflector magazine article What am I going to observe tonight? encourages us to observe. The important thing is to get started!
Here
are some step-by-step beginner tips. If
you practice ahead with Virtual Moon,
you will be prepared for observing the real moon outside. We will help and answer questions as we all
observe the moon through telescopes together.
FYI, lunar observing is mostly a review of the visible maria, crater hunting, and occasional search for other
features.
1.
a. Set these directions on the left of
your screen.
b. Bring up & place Virtual Moon Atlas on the right.
c. Place the hard copy of your AL Lunar
Club List nearby.
2. To see the full moon and all maria, click Ephemeris, set the date (2012 01 08) and time (21:00), and click Complete.
3. To check out the Terminator, the line between
dark and light, change the date to 2011 11 04 and click Complete.
4. Change the day up and down some. Note:
This is a waxing, gibbous moon. Go
back to 2011 01 08 Full Moon.
5. Name and point to the 11 main Maria you can
see.
6. Near the bottom of the moon, see the rays
from Tycho.
Follow the rays back to Tycho crater. Can you see a center cone?
7. Click on several craters south of Tycho and see if you can find Clavius. If not, click on Information, enter Clavius, and
click Find.
Compare with the location of Tycho. Now try again
to find Clavius without Information Find. This will train your mind and memory.
8. Now enlarge the moon (with mouse roller
wheel), and see the details of Clavius.
9. For more practice, find these craters, from
south to north. Find and record them on your AL
Lunar List (date, time, equipment used).
Maginus
Longomontanus
Wilhelm
(between Tycho & Terminator)
Maurolycus
What
does Rimae mean?
Rupes Recta
Arzachel
Alphonsus
Ptolomaeus
Herschel
Davy
Albategnius
Hipparchus
Bullialdus
Pitatus
Kies Pi
Fra Mauro
Copernicus
Eratosthenes
Mons
Apenninus
Palus Putredinis
Archimedes
Autolycus
Aristellus
Cassini
Montes
Alpes
Vallis Alpes
Plato
Eudoxes
Aristoteles
10. Bring your AL Lunar List to our Lunar
Observing. We will have Virtual Moon Atlas to help you find them
yourself through a telescope, using a low, and then a higher power
eyepiece.
Or, place your AL Lunar List, and these
directions on a small tea table, and your VMA program on a computer on a tea table
right next to the first. Put your telescope
with a low and a high power eyepiece next to that. Use a red flashlight.
11.
Find several craters on VMA that are near the terminator. Look for them with low power in the
telescope. Center. Switch to high power.
12. Draw 2"x2" sketches of what you see
on your AL Lunar List hard copy.
Will they remind you how to find and
recognize them again later?
13. After the full moon, the moon will rise later
each night and Mare Crisium will begin to disappear
in darkness. Switch to observe in the
mornings and daytime the waning, gibbous to crescent moon.
Two weeks after the full moon, you will be
able to see a very thin sliver of the real moon in the west. You can watch it move and become more visible
each night. You will see Mare Crisium reappear, and
several days later, Mare Tranquillitatis, Fecunditatis, and Nectaris. After the quarter moon, we will be able to
see parts of Mare Nubium and everything listed in 9.
above.
Clear
skies,
Stan
and Tedda
