First Report from the PCW Memorial Observatory

This past week has been very exciting, as Backyard Observatories has constructed a roll off roof observatory for Paul and me.  We have named it PCW Memorial Observatory in honor of my late grandparents. To learn more and see the work as it unfolded Visit the: Cloudy Nights Forum

I started the session with a scan of the entire lunar surface.  You never know what gems might be spotted that would have otherwise slipped right past you on the way to the terminator.  Tonight I particularly enjoyed the rays fading into the background towards the east and then gradually gaining contrast until they practically shot out of the craters like fingers such as with Kepler.

The seeing was meant to be not so dire, however it was boiling enough to limit me to a 12mm eyepiece through my 12” dob.  The transparency was like looking through a glass of hot water.   That’s ok, though.  It was enough to take in a larger view rather than diving into all the nooks and crannies for this journey.  I was comfortable, except for that one mosquito that bit me on the eyelid.  I was at peace, except for the brief moment of my heart fluttering when Paul accidentally stepped on Buttercup when he backed away from his scope next to me.

Moving up in my field of view, which is actually south on the Moon, Schiller still wore the same size shoe, if not a little thinner. This time there was a pair of feet walking along the southern limb, as several of the rugged craters appeared long and narrow.  It reminded me of a tranquil walk in the sand along the shores of the humorous sea. 

Nudging my scope slightly West, you can almost envision a light breeze waving the seed heads of the wheat across the smooth 230km wide walled plain of Schickard. Gassendi looked like an upside down teddy bear face and I could have sworn that Montes Recti wasn’t a straight range, but written words meant only for me.  I couldn’t read them, feeling a bit like a pilot that is trying to read the letters produced in the sand for an SOS message.  But if I had to wager a guess, it was Plato welcoming me back.

Mons Gruithuisen Delta and Gamma were like little bubbles of air trying to poke through the crust, and around Angström, the ridges and bumps looks like several little domes popping up like slalom runs down a ski slope….or as typical with my arms and legs (such is the life of a gardener) like a patch of poison ivy rash. 

After a quick admiring look at Aristarchus and the ‘snakelike’ Vallis Schroteri combined with the head of Herodotus and the southern outer edges of his forked tongue, I reached the terminator once again to find another serpent, Schiaparelli.

If you turn to plate 18 of your velveteen Rukl, this handsome little crater at a quick glance might be considered a simple crater.  But, it is a little larger at about 25km in diameter and it has a small central mountain, which would suggest a smaller complex crater.  The height/width ratio is about 1/13th.  So even though this crater is considered to have high walls, again, it fits into the small complex crater group.  Nevertheless, it’s a cute little thing and along the terminator line tonight, Dorsa Burnet became the tail of the serpent with Schiaparelli as the head.  The southern tip of the elongated crater appeared to open up slightly as a forked tongue just like with Herodotus.

I viewed tonight pretty much around transit, which would be close to 0300 UT on 2007 May 29 (or 2300 ST on the 28^th of May at my location).  Lunation was about 12.31 days with 92% illumination. The memorial observatory is at Lat 40deg1’, Long -81deg55’.

Time to roll the roof closed, smile at the scopes resting peacefully, and call it a night.