Lunar Observations 2025-12-08

published 2025-12-08

by Christopher Howard

I woke up a little earlier than usual this morning and realized that I could spare about 30 minutes or so for some stargazing. The moon was high and bright, so instead of stargazing I decided to focus on lunar observing. I broke out my old Jupiter 60-AZ and took it out in the front yard. The mount on the 60-AZ has some serious issues, but it is still workable enough for lunar observations. The temperature was cold at -21 ℉, but after putting on my Bat Thermal Underwear™ and three other layers of clothing, I was able to stay warm enough.

Sketching the moon is not practical for me — there is too much detail involved, and I don't have enough time for it, usually having only about 30 minutes or so out in the freezing cold. But I can learn a lot by taking notes. For this, I set out a small table next to the telescope, and I laid out my Cambridge Atlas 3rd ed. Iopened up to the moon map on page 2, trying to make some identifications, which I noted down in my notebook right after coming back inside. I got back inside about 5:20am, after about 30 minutes of observing.

The area I focused my observations on were near the terminator line, which I believe was just a little past 50 deg E. More specifically, I focused on the craters E of Mare Nectaris, and also the non-mare area that sits in-between M. Nectaris, M. Fecunditatis, and M. Tranquillitatis. The moon seemed too fuzzy with the medium magnification lens, so I stuck with the low magnification lens most of the time.

East of M. Nectaris

Observations, with Cambridge map crater numbers:

gash-like Gutenberg 242
Goclenius 241 and Columbo 240, along with the triangle of three smaller craters in-between them
two small craters along the E edge of M. Nectaris
I looked for the small triplet of stars east of Columbo, but they appeared to be swallowed up in the terminator line

In-Between M. Nectaris, M. Tranq., and M. Fecund.

Looking at the peninsula in-between those three oceans:

On the south side, in that piece of land wedging into M. Nectaris, was Capella 228 and Isidorus 227
One the north side, I could see the two large craters which are on the map but not numbered

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