![]() The naming convention of naming craters after dead scientists was established in the 17 th century. Almost all of these are impact craters, formed by the collision of an asteroid or comet with the surface of the Moon. The other easily distinguishable features on the Moon are craters. ![]() We now know that’s not the case at all these lowland areas of the Moon are actually volcanic lava flows and appear darker than the highland areas because of their high iron and titanium content. This is because the early lunar observers in the 17 th century thought that these dark patches really were seas of water. I’ve marked the Apollo mission landing sites as well, although it might be easier to pinpoint those locations with a telescope rather than binoculars.Īs you see in the image, the large dark areas on the surface of the Moon are named mare or seas. I’ve marked several features that will be easy to pick out with binoculars. Tonight the Moon will be 87% illuminated, so will look much like the image below, which was also taken when the Moon was 87% illuminated. If there weren’t stars in the sky one would almost think this image was taken in the daytime, with that bright blue sky and puffy white clouds. At 78% illuminated, it’s one big bright ball o’light that really lights up the night sky! When the sky is so bright, dim objects such as the comet, fade from view the image below shows the comet in all its fading glory. I did find Comet NEOWISE, which continues to get dimmer not only because its tail is getting smaller as it travels farther from the Sun, but because of the brightness of the Moon. As promised, I brushed off my binoculars, charged my camera battery, and spent a couple of hours enjoying the mostly clear starry sky last night.
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