Plinius and Menelaus craters on Mare Serenitatis/Tranquillitatis on the Moon

Plinius and Menelaus, located on the eastern Moon, at a distance of 227 km from each other from center to center, have a common characteristic, namely both have peaks in the center. Otherwise, Pliny is larger, more visible even through small telescopes, especially because it's located on the Tranquillitatis basin plateau, close to the mountain region Promotorium Archerusia. But Menelaus has an advantage compared to Plinius: the rays of a very intense albedo spreading in 3 directions: east, south and west, due to the impact of lunar scattered material. We understand that by dropping a stone in the sand ..

These images have areas of intense color, in which in the basin Serenitatis and Tranquillitatis's delimitations are observed. This phenomenon is observed only when the Sun illuminates the Moon at a high angle, otherwise, at a low angle, the colors are practically unnoticed.

Moon age: 7 days
Phase: 51% (0% = New, 100% = Full)
Distance: 384.488 km

Optics: Celestron C8-Newtonian telescope, 20mm Plössl, 2x barlow
Mount: CG5 (EQ5)
Camera: Sony CX130
Filter: no
Date: 29/04/2012
Location: Baia Mare, Romania
Processing: video capture, FastStone Image Viewer

Photo above was made in May 11, 2011, with the same astronomical instruments.

Posted in: Craters-Menelaus,Craters-Plinius,Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquillitatis,Promotorium Archerusia