Above~ The 19 Day Moon at 19d 14h 49m.
Monday, April 10, 2023~ 5:30 – 6:30 am.
Location~ Moosehorn Creek, NB
Sky Conditions~ Clear, cold and very still out.
Temp~ -6° 44%H
Moonrise~ 12.26 am
Sunrise~ 6:46 am
Moonset~ 8:55 am
Age of Moon~ 19d 14h 49m
Lunar brightness is now at 81.8%
Transit~ 4:43 am.
The 19 Day Moon~
Above~ the 19 Day Moon over the house at 5:45 am.
Moon is not rising high at all now, but it is still clearing the wall of the Observatory. Transit today (highest point in the sky) was at 4:43 am so getting a first view by at least 5 am would have worked better. Will have to shift back to front porch observing soon for lunar observing as elevation will be drastically lower.
With a 10mm eyepiece the craters close to the terminator line popped out as usual, with Posidonius and Theophilus really clamouring for attention. A Moon Filter is still necessary at this illumination. The astounding detail along the terminator and the thrill as usual at seeing something so incredible were tempered by my Mak-Newt scope in a very awkward position. Time was short. Lingered there a little bit then popped in the camera just to get a record, although no pic ever compares to that view through the eyepiece. Not entirely happy with the quality of the pic but there it is anyway.
In the case of a waning Moon, if I want a more comfortable lunar viewing from the Ob then I need to check and get closer to the Transit Time for when it is highest, in this case 4:43 am. Getting out fifteen minutes earlier would make a difference: skip the coffee or take it with me perhaps.
Big shift happening outside~
Above~ View from the Observatory: Five deer sleeping in the field a little after 6 am.
The giant switch that gets flipped here in NB about April 15 is occurring. More outside ambient sounds are starting now. I’m hearing wood duck noises morning and evening, geese flying over to the east but can’t see them in the dusk, an owl to the east as well. Deer had slept at the top of the knoll and were still in the field at this point. Overall a beautiful morning. I fed the horses after.
No music during this session.
Summary~
Moon at 19d 14h 49m at 73 magnification with filter (10mm)
Posidonius and Theophilus
All at 73 magnification with Moon filter.
Scope– ES Comet Hunter – 152mm f/4.8 731mm Maksutov-Newtonian
Mount– Celestron AVX
Eyepiece used– 10mm Ethos
Sources~
New Atlas of the Moon by Thierry Legault & Serge Brunier [2006]. Beautiful Firefly reference book with overlays, unfortunately out of print.
Sky and Telescope’s Field Map of the Moon~Mirror image laminated fold out map. I use this all the time, handy.
21st Century Atlas of the Moon~ by Charles A. Wood and Maurice J. S. Collins (2013). Excellent detail.
The PhotoPills App~ Exact time and age of the Lunar Cycle, sunset, twilight phase info for our gps location, etc. Great app.
50 Things to See on the Moon~ by John A. Read.
