East Moon's dark and bright features.

East Moon is interesting to observe thtough binoculars and telescope. Here we see large basins distinct between them, such as Mare Crisium, Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis, Fecunditatis and Nectaris.

These are dark parts of the Moon. With the bright parts of the Moon is another story. They are bright because they have a high albedo, being excavated materials scattered like rays following impacts, and in contact with sunlight have a high brightness. Among them we identify a small crater on the western Mare Crisium named Proclus (28 km), but which is very highlighted when it is full Moon, around it observing rays like spikes. The same situation is also with another 2 small craters in southeastern Moon called Stevinus A (8 km) and Furnerius A (12 km).

Craters were filmed with a video camera attached to an astronomical 203 mm Newtonian telescope.

In the Gif picture below are labeled craters and other lunar features in the region. To better understand this photo, you should note that the label with the name or the letter of larger craters could be found at their center, and on the small craters, you should find them around them, usually above.

Magnitude: -11.90
Phase: 0.86
Distance: 400.253 km
Illuminated: 85.8% (0% = new, 100% = full)

Astronomical Instrument: Celestron C8-Newtonian telescope
Eyepiece: Plossl 20mm, 2x Barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Camera: Sony CX105
Filter: no
Date: 06.11.2011
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: FastStone Image Viewer





The video was made with the camera mounted on the telescope, to be more exact on the telescope eyepiece. To protect the telescope from vibrations, I used a tracking motor from Lacerta, and thus the image was more stable.

However, even with this tracking device for celestial bodies, there were vibrations of the telescope tube, causing the image to be slightly unstable. For this, I used the video stabilization option in Sony Vegas editing software, so the video was 100% correct on this issue.

Unstable aspect of the image through the telescope is caused by a combination of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere and increased streams of heat from the ground and buildings.

Images were obtained by attaching a camera directly into the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope of 8 inch Newtonian; For this reason the eyepiece visual field was increased.

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East lunar basins Astronomical images

48 frames at 90% best quality

2 frames at 100% best quality

In these photos made in Registax program, we see more lava basins, larger and smaller (second photo), such as Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquillitatis, half of Mare Fecunditatis, Mare Nectaris, and about a quarter of Mare Crisium, the rest being sunk in shadow.

   Note the claw-shaped mountain that separates the two basins Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis, of which termination is Promotorium Archerusia. Note also Taruntius crater, situated between Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Fecunditatis, and Posidonius crater on the northeast edge of Mare Serenitatis.

In the first photo in the article, we see the western edge of Mare Crisium. Three quarters of this plateau is in shadow, and at the terminal are still observed two craters, one below, called Picard, and one to the north, called Peirce.

  Proclus, the the crater of which is most lit in the first photo because it shows a very high albedo. In this picture, the Sun shines in the eastern inner wall. Proclus, is located on Palus Somni, and in other lighting conditions, it can be seen the rays scattered from north-west, north-east and south, these being the ejection from the impact that produced the crater.

  Images are processed in Registax of a video that were taken a few shots, merged to form a single image.

Moon Age: 17 days
Phase: 90% (0% = New, 100% = Full)
Distance: 399,796 km

Optics: Celestron C8-Newtonian telescope, 20mm Plossl, 2x Barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Camera: Sony CX130
Filter: no
Date: 03/09/2012
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: Registax, FastStone Image Viewer

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Photos by telescope Craters around Nectaris basin

Piccolomini, Rupes Altai, Janssen, Theophilus, Cyrillus, Catharina, Fracastorius, are just some of the features around Mare Nectaris, visible in these video caprtures.

Abulfeda and Almanon craters are in the dark in these images, and just inside the western edges are lit by the sun.
Mare Nectaris (Sea of Nectar), is dating back 3.9 billion years, framed by several rings of lava formed after the impact. It is a small, well-defined circular basin with an affected southern edge forming a large bay, Fracastorius crater (124 km). Mare Nectaris joins Sinus Asperitatis north.

Rupes Altai is 480 kilometers long, with somewhat a sinuous wall along much of its length. Is parallel to the southwestern border of Mare Nectaris, and actually forms a part of the external ring of Nectaris basin.

Optics: Celestron C8-Newtonian telescope, 20 mm Plössl, 2x barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Camera: Sony CX130
Filter: no
Date: 04/27/2012
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: video capture, FastStone Image Viewer

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East of the Moon through a telescope (Video)-Eastern Moon seas

Many Moon observations are understood by your telescope installed in your backyard. Compare  the large circular seas for example found on the eastern hemisphere of the Moon: Mare Serenitatis, Nectaris, Crisium and Fecunditatis, each being an ancient basin.
 Nectaris Basin is the oldest, with an age of 3.72 billion years. Nectaris basin also show clear structure, with two rings of stone most noticeable to the west. The inner ring, the deepest, forms the line "shore" of the basin, while the outer ring is Rupes Altai.
 Fracastorius crater offers a fascinating view . The impact that formed it, happened after the impact of large Nectaris basin, but before the flood of lava begins.
Notice for example in the picture below as the northern Nectaris sea wall was melted lava.

Mare Serenitatis is a basin filled with lava, and with multi-rings. Note the different colors of lava. These colors represent different streams with different compositions. The newest lava flows are on the center .
  The most visible and largest crater in this video is Langrenus that is located on the Fecunditatis sea.



Video by: Victor Lupu
Optics: Celestron C8"-Newtonian telescope, plossl 20mm
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Device: Sony CX105
Total Optical zoom: 50x
Filter: No
Date: 16/07/2011
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Editing: Video stabilized in Sony Vegas 10

Nectaris basin photo below is made ​​on 9 February 2011, I put it to see the two rings of the impact which produced this sea.

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Mare Nectaris

The images above are processed in Registax 55 and 52 frames at 80% and 100% Highest quality

The images below are snapshots from video

                    FastStone bump map effect,FastStone is a simple program to edit photos.

Photographer: Victor Lupu
Optics: Celestron C8-N telescope, plossl 20mm, 2x Barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Device: Sony HDR CX105
Filter: No
Date: 09/02/2011
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: Sony Vegas 10 Registax

 Sea of Nectar (Mare Nectaris)-plateau above on the left in the pictures, is filled with volcanic lava and is situated between Sea Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis) and the Sea of Fecundity (Mare Fecunditatis). At south east of Mare Nectaris is a small crater like a point known as Rosse crater (12 km.). Mare Nectaris is 101.000 km ² and it is a bay of the Sea of Tranquility (Mare Tranquillitatis).

        At the bottom of the sea you can see a horseshoe-shaped crater called Fracastorius (124 km.).
     The two craters, which are intertwined in the left of photos are Theophilus and Cyrillus, and the one that looks like Theophilus and Cyrillus, little lower, is called Catharina. A chain forming like mountains are Rupes Altai and at the end is Piccolomini crater (88 km.).

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