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The British Astronomical Association

                                                           Lunar Section
                                                             Circular
                                                              Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
            Director: Bill Leatherbarrow                                 Editor: Peter Grego

From the Director
A very brief column this month. I
write this well ahead of the normal
deadline, as I am about to depart
on a trip abroad (although,
confusingly, I shall be well back
by the time you read this). So,
everything is a bit rushed this
month, but I shall try to make up
with      a    more      substantial
contribution to the next Circular!
    By the time this Circular is
issued I shall have taken over from
David Boyd as BAA President.
Several members have written to
ask if I shall be continuing as
Lunar Section Director during my
presidency. I certainly intend to
try, and I am very fortunate in
having two very able and hard-
working assistant directors as well
as a supportive Section committee.
I am already extremely grateful for
the help they provide, and I expect
I shall be even more in their debt
over the next couple of years.
    In my contribution to the
November Circular I reproduced           John Russell’s large pastel painting The Face of the Moon (circa
some sketches of Eratosthenes by 1795) is a wonderfully accurate depiction of a waxing gibbous Moon,
W.H. Pickering. Unfortunately, as       as seen through a telescope. The painting hangs in Soho House in
several keen-eyed readers have        Birmingham, once the meeting place of the Lunar Society, the greatest
observed, the year of those             provincial philosophical society in 18th Century England. Russell
observations is wrongly given in         himself was not one of the ‘Lunatics’, but as an artist had a keen
the caption as 1901. The actual           interest in astronomy; The Face of the Moon is one of the first
year is 1918, as given by Pickering      accurate lunar colour renditions. Inside, Kevin Kilburn discusses
in his article in Popular                  lunar colour and the exciting possibilities in capturing colour
Astronomy, vol. XXVII, no. 9                     available to modern lunar observers and imagers.
(November 1919). Apologies for
the typo, but the colongitude values given on the individual drawings are enough to allow the modern
observer to repeat Pickering’s observations under similar conditions. I hope you will try to do so!
    Finally (although it seems very odd to be writing this at the end of October!), best wishes to all of you for
the upcoming festive season! Until next month, clear skies.
                                                                                            Bill Leatherbarrow
                                                                                Director, BAA Lunar Section
Topographical notes                                                  compiled by Peter Grego
Visual studies and observations
Since November’s LSC topographic observations have been received from Colin Ebdon (Fordham Heath,
UK), Peter Grego (St Dennis, UK), Chuck Hastorf (Arizona, USA), Phil Morgan (Tenbury Wells, UK) and
Sally Russell (UK). The observations are reproduced below.

Historic books online
Exciting news from Maurice Collins (Palmerston North, New Zealand), who writes: ‘I’ve created a new
webpage of links to historic astronomical ebooks (pdf, epub, Kindle, etc) on my website at:
http://moonscience.yolasite.com/e-books.php It covers the Moon, Mars, Galaxies, Sun, Observatories etc.
Just whatever I have come across so far. All are free to download of course (as far as I can tell anyway). Most
are old, but still interesting to read. I have been especially enjoying the books by George Ellery Hale, he was
a very enthusiastic astronomer! Hope there will be something there for everyone, and I’ll add more as I come
across them over time.’




                                                                                          A screenshot of
                                                                                         Maurice’s e-book
                                                                                               web page.




Height of lunar features and LTVT
There has been a flurry of discussion between Maurice Collins, Robin Vann, Chuck Hastorf and Philip
Jennings about estimating the height of lunar features on the BAA Lunar Section Topographic Studies Yahoo!
Group pages at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/baalunarsection-topography/
    Philip writes: ‘I have an interest in attempting a little lunar trigonometry this winter — I’d love to try
estimating the height of features from the length of their shadows. I know this method probably doesn’t have
much scientific value these days, but it would be a fun project! My problem is this — I need to know the angle
of illumination for the exact time of observation, but I can’t find any way of getting my hands on this data.
Does anyone know of a tool to help with this? Then I have the problem of how I go about measuring the
length of shadows — I don’t have a micrometer!’
    In response, Maurice writes: ‘The Lunar Terminator Visualization Tool (LTVT) should help you do this:
http://ltvt.wikispaces.com/LTVT a brief setup guide I wrote to get people going is here:
http://moonscience.yolasite.com/resources/LTVT%20setup.pdf I am sure LTVT will help you work out what
you need. You can even import your image into it (under Calibrate User Image) and work from there.’
    LTVT is a multifaceted tool capable of enhancing or even creating new lines of lunar research. I have
recently started using LTVT to produce templates for visual observational drawings (see below); unlike

2                                              BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
producing observing blanks from lunar charts, LTVT generated images they have the advantage of being
corrected libration. By knowing roughly what to expect to see in terms of shadows, this is by no means
‘cheating’; I import the LTVT image into my drawing program onto my handheld computer and create a low-
contrast image which is used to draw directly upon. The ability to get the positions of the craters and other
features correct frees up more time to concentrate upon detail — a relatively modest telescope is capable of
revealing more detail than the LTVT models, especially at very low angles of illumination.

Hesiodus and Rima Hesiodus                                                                        Peter Grego
The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a low-contrast drawing template was prepared using
LTVT to ensure positional accuracy. This template was transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the
telescope eyepiece. Hesiodus was its own diameter from the sunrise terminator, and owing to the limitations
of the template most of its eastern wall lay outside the drawing. About half of Hesiodus’ interior was covered
with shadows cast by its eastern rim, its southern floor completely covered with shadow while its northern
floor was crossed by a couple of prominent shadow spires; the southern most of these, crossing the central
part of the floor, lay adjacent to the small central crater Hesiodus D. Immediately north and northwest of
Hesiosus was a cluster of north-south aligned mountain ridges, the westernmost of these (just for the purposes
of this report, designated Hesiodus NW Alpha) casting half a dozen shadow spires to the west across Mare
Nubium; the longest of these touched the southern tip of a low north-south ridge in the mare. This ridge (just
for the purposes of this report, designated Ridge A) could be traced north to the edge of the area depicted,
crossing the shadow cast by Hesiodus B and to the shadow cast by a small unnamed mountain spur shown at
the top of the sketch. Hesiodus B was largely full of shadow and it cast a long pointed shadow which just
failed to meet the terminator. East of Hesiodus B was observed the ruined crater Hesiodus X, whose walls
formed a disjointed arc of peaks; its northern wall is
presumed to be buried beneath the mare, but there was a
slight indication of shadowing running around the
northeast where the wall is presumed to be buried. The
large blunt shadow cast by the main component of
Hesiodus X’s western wall met the lower slopes of
Hesiodus B’s outer eastern wall. Rima Hesiodus
emerged from the shadow cast by Hesiodus’
northwestern rim and could be traced across the mare to
the sunrise terminator; although linear, Rima Hesiodus
appeared slightly irregular along its length, with slight
variations in the brightness of its inner northern wall,
hinted at in this sketch. Rima Hesiodus ran across a
linear shadowing running from the southern tip of the
aforementioned Hesiodus NW Alpha to the shadow cast
by Hesiodus A. Hesiodus A, adjoining Hesiodus’
southwestern wall, was largely shadow-filled, and its
western rim cast a long broad shadow which failed to
meet the terminator; a small mountain was observed
catching sunlight above the shadow to the west of
southern Hesiodus A, giving the shadow group a multi-
spired appearance. The southern edge of the sketch took
in ridges along northern Weiss, and part of Weiss E was
observed catching sunlight beyond the terminator. The
terminator itself was complicated, and there were
suggestions of a low ridge, particularly southwest of
Hesiodus B, where a dark linear northeast-southwest
shading linked the aforementioned Ridge A to the
terminator. Immediately west of the aforementioned
Hesiodus NW Alpha there appeared a small elongated
hill, not very bright, catching sunlight.

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011                                               3
Ramsden and Rimae Ramsden                      Peter Grego
                                                 The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a
                                                 low-contrast drawing template was prepared using LTVT
                                                 to ensure positional accuracy. This template was
                                                 transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the
                                                 telescope eyepiece. One of the objective of this session
                                                 was to observe the Rimae Ramsden network of rilles to
                                                 the east of Ramsden as they emerged into the lunar
                                                 morning light. It transpired that seeing, plus slight mist
                                                 and some interference from bonfire smoke reduced the
                                                 contrast so that fine detail was difficult to discern. Only
                                                 the eastern outer wall of Ramsden itself was illuminated.
                                                 Two hills to the east of Ramsden formed the junction of
                                                 the rilles running across Palus Epidemiarum. The two
                                                 north-branching rilles were only seen during moments of
                                                 better seeing, one running north towards Marth, the other
                                                 northeast towards a mountain ridge radial to Capuanus
                                                 (only Capuanus’ western half is depicted in this
                                                 observation). The shadow cast by Capuanus’ western rim
                                                 was extensive and covered Capuanus P save for its inner
                                                 western wall. Nearby, Elger was largely full of shadow.
                                                 To the south was a complicated mass of north-south
                                                 trending hills and mountains. Several craters were noted
                                                 in Palus Epidemiarum, one of which, southwest of
                                                 Mercator, was set in brighter surroundings than the rest
                                                 of the mare. Mercator, at top right in this observation,
                                                 was one-third filled with shadow, and the portion of floor
                                                 visible was smooth and featureless. A large mountain
                                                 ridge extended south from Mercator, casting a broad
                                                 shadow westward. Westward from the southern tip of this
                                                 mountain appeared a faint dusky line which was the ill-
                                                 defined western reaches of Rima Hesiodus. Beyond the
morning terminator were numerous high points catching sunlight, including the outer eastern wall of Lepaute,
west of Ramsden.

Doppelmayer                                                                                   Peter Grego
The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a low-contrast drawing template was prepared using
LTVT to ensure positional accuracy. This template was transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the
telescope eyepiece. Doppelmayer, on the southern shoreline of Mare Humorum, presented a wonderful visual


    Join us at our Yahoo! Group

    Lunar
    Topographic
    Studies
    If you’d like to view many more BAA Lunar Section members’ observational drawings, along with some
    of the observations featured in previous Lunar Section Circulars, you’re welcome to join our Yahoo!
    Group at:
    http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/baalunarsection-topography/
4                                             BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
sight as it emerged from the morning terminator. The
western half of its floor was covered in shadow cast by
its large central peak and ridge to its northwest, and
much of the southern half of Doppelmayer’s floor was
also shadow-filled. The inner western wall’s upper
reaches were illuminated and ran around the crater in a
near-continuous band with some subtle shadings here
and there. Beyond it to the west were several illuminated
arcs of high terrain parallel to the western wall.
Doppelmayer’s northwestern flanks have been largely
obliterated by lava flows from Mare Humorum, but it
appeared that the northeastern sector of the crater’s floor
bounded by the wall remnants was slightly darker than
the adjoining mare. South of Doppelmayer, west of Lee,
were numerous areas catching sunlight, some
representing higher relief, some defined by surrounding
shadow. The mid-inner western wall of Lee was very
bright. Vitello, whose illuminated inner western wall can
just be seen at right, cast a wide multi-pronged shadow
towards Lee. The terrain south of Lee and Vitello was
very complicated and only roughly portrayed in this
observation. Low ridges ran north of Lee towards
Puiseux, and another low ridge ran north of Vitello
across Mare Humorum.

Lunar observations by Chuck Hastorf
Below are digital drawings by Chuck Hastorf based
upon sketches made at the eyepiece. The observation




                                                              above (whose text may not be readable at this
                                                              scale) was made on 2011 November 3 at 01:00-
                                                              03:10 UT using a 5-inch SCT (NexStar 5SE).

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48    No. 12   December 2011                                           5
6   BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
What are we to do with lunar colour imaging?                                                       Kevin J Kilburn

As a recently re-joining member of the BAA Lunar Section, after a lapse of some 25 years, I was pleased to see
that during 2010 there had been some correspondence in the Lunar Section Circulars on the topic of Moon
colour and some whole disc photography. I particularly liked Ray Emery’s article in LSC Vol. 48, No.5, May
2011. But I was equally surprised that relatively little has been done to utilize this inherent property of the lunar
surface to investigate topographical features in more than a cursory fashion. Using surface colour to show us the
stratigraphic history of the lunar surface offers a great opportunity to learn more about the Moon.
    Lunar surface colour and TLP have been an interest for over 40 years at Manchester Astronomical Society;
Nigel Longshaw and I once spent an hour or so attempting to see colour with the 8-inch refractor at the Godlee
Observatory, but my current interest was sparked in December 2005 when another of our members, Anthony
Jennings, showed some multiple-stacked, colour enhanced digital images taken with a Philips ToUcam Pro II
webcam and an 8-inch Schmidt-Newtonian, then mosaicing the individual frames to build this image. Earlier
that year, some extremely colour-exaggerated amateur pictures had been published in Sky & Telescope, but they
simply mimicked the remarkable colour image sent back by the Galileo spacecraft as it left for Jupiter. By
comparison, Anthony's pictures showed moon colour as it could seen visually.It started a project at the MAS to
further investigate Moon colour http://www.manastro.co.uk/projects/mooncolour.htm




A colourful lunar history
The Moon appears dazzlingly bright; a contrast effect against the darker night sky. Its subtle colours are barely
detectable by the colour-sensitive cones in the retina, that are themselves far less sensitive than the more light-
sensitive (and glare-bedazzled) rods. Surface colour is difficult to see. The best way is to attempt to draw it; think
to yourself, how would you draw what’s on view? Would black ink on a white background really be enough to
capture the yellowish Aristarchus plateau? No, definitely not. Would the more subtle use of charcoal or pencil
depict it more faithfully in shades of grey — or would you include coloured pencil, perhaps cream or yellow, or
even blue, brown or orange? Now you have it, you are beginning to see the Moon’s colour; it is real. Some will
see lunar colour more easily than others, it depends on the individual’s colour perception and sensitivity, but
once detected, the colour becomes obvious.
     It’s therefore not too surprising that probably the first coloured depictions of the Moon were made by English
artist, John Russell, at the end of the 18th Century. One can be seen at Soho House, Handsworth, Birmingham
and others at the Museum for the History of Science, Oxford. The first coloured Moon map of which I am aware
is by the French astronomer and artist, Lucien Rudaux, drawn for the 1948 French edition of the Larousse
Encyclopaedia of Astronomy (translated into English in 1967). Rudaux’s map closely matches colour enhanced
whole-disc digital images.
     Visually, the area that stands out most is Wood’s Spot, first described in 1910 by physicist R.W. Wood, a
rhomboid with a side of 200 km (125 miles) immediately northwest of Aristarchus. Even a 3-inch telescope will

BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48    No. 12    December 2011                                                    7
detect colour here and, with a
                                                                              bigger instrument and a reasonably
                                                                              high magnification to isolate the
                                                                              feature and reduce glare, the
                                                                              yellowish-brown of Wood’s Spot
                                                                              really shows up. In 1922, Wood
                                                                              recorded it as having a spectral
                                                                              reflectivity     similar    to   the
                                                                              sulphurous deposits around some
                                                                              volcanic regions on Earth. Colour
                                                                              enhanced digital images show it as
                                                                              a dirty yellow, by far the strongest
                                                                              colour shade on the earthward face
                                                                              of the Moon.
                                                                                  Another colourful region, best
                                                                              seen with lower magnification, is
                                                                              Mare Serenitatis. Its lighter centre
                                                                              is a distinctly ‘warmer’ shade than
                                                                              the dark eastern rim of bluish basalt
                                                                              overflowing         from       Mare
                                                                              Tranquillitatis. Some observers
                                                                              have reported seeing Mare
                                                                              Fecunditatis, near to the crater
                                                                              Langrenus, as a cool green.
                                                                              However, the warm tints of lava
                                                                              spreading across most of the
                                                                              northeast corner of Mare Imbrium
                                                                              are, to many, more difficult to
                                                                              discern.
                                                                                  While most of the lunar maria
                                                                              show some surface colour, the
                                                                              heavily       cratered      southern
    Colour enhanced image of the Aristarchus area by Roel Alvarez.            hemisphere does not. This
                                                                              bombarded landscape pre-dates by
a billion years the formation of the maria. Although reddened and slightly darkened by eaons of space-
weathering against which Tycho’s more recent rays and ejecta show white, most of this ancient landscape does
not show the colours seen in the discrete geological units of the younger mare basalts.
    Observations of lunar colour have been useful to professional lunar scientists for over a century. Since 1910,
studies have concentrated on measuring the Moon’s surface photometry with calibrated colour filters.
Comparison of monochrome lunar photographs taken through different filters, showed the difference in the
relative brightness of the surface according to which colour filter was used.
    In 1929 WH Wright described using the 36-inch Crossley reflector at the Lick Observatory to take pairs of
prime focus photographs in ultraviolet and infrared. In these images, reddish colour showed dark in the
ultraviolet, and bluer colour showed dark in the near infrared. Wood’s Spot showed the greatest difference: he
observed it was very dark in the ultraviolet but barely showing in the infrared image. He found the next most
conspicuous colour difference in Mare Imbrium, near Sinus Iridum, where the infrared image ‘showed a dark
marking sprawling irregularly over the lower part of the sea and ramifying into the bay’.
    Although Wright’s observations didn’t convey what Moon colour really looked like, his technique enabled
the reflectivity of the maria in different wavelengths to be compared with rock samples from volcanic areas on
Earth. This established that the rocks of the lunar maria were similar to terrestrial basalts and lavas, decades
before physical samples were available.
    In the 1950s, monochrome photographs taken by Dinsmore Alter, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los
Angeles, were also used to isolate colour differences. He combined a negative image taken through a filter of

8                                                BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011
one colour with a positive image taken through a filter of a different colour; as in the case of Wright’s earlier
work, the greatest contrasts were obtained with the greatest wavelength separation, where the colour differences
were most contrasted. Ewen Whitaker at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, extended
this technique in the 1960s.
    By the early 1970s, the Apollo era had arrived and samples retrieved from the lunar surface could be
compared with terrestrial rocks as ‘ground truth’ material. These comparisons analysed mineral content and
spectrophotometric signatures — or the intensity of reflected light at different colours — to better understand
the Moon’s chemical composition. Moon colour paid dividends here, and was also employed by multi-spectral,
remote surveys on orbiting Apollo spacecraft. Later science missions, like the Clementine lunar mission and the
Galileo probe also made observations of colour. The latter, en route to Jupiter, studied the relative age
distribution and stratigraphy, or layering, of lunar cratering that followed the flooding of the major mare basins
some 3 billion years ago.
    For amateur observers, lunar colour has always seemed to be just on or below the threshold of visual

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011                                                  9
detection. Its long history demonstrates that any competent observer could have visually investigated Moon
colour at any time during the past 100 years, yet few observers have recorded it. A 1940 paper called The
Harvests of Plato by British observer Robert Barker in the magazine Popular Astronomy carries significant
colour references, otherwise the best sources of colour observation are occasional reports from the BAA lunar
section in the Journal of the BAA. In the 1950s and mid-1960s, VA Firsoff’s book Strange World of the Moon
and Gilbert Fielder’s work Lunar Geology refer to surface colour. Fielder, a Manchester astronomer working
with Prof. Z Kopal, carried out his investigations of lunar colour from the Pic du Midi Observatory as part of
NASA’s pre-Apollo lunar research project. However, these are the exceptions. Most contemporary Moon
observers do not mention colour, and this can be put down to the difficulty of seeing it.

Digital photography
Nowadays, though, we have a new tool: digital photography can easily show Moon colour. Unlike traditional
photography, digital pictures of the Moon contain far more information, which is easily extracted with image-
processing software. Any decent, well-focused picture of the full Moon taken through a telescope can be
processed to show Moon colour. This is the case whether the image is of the whole disc or a close-up of any
particular lunar region. Do not over-saturate the colour; there are many examples of gaudy, over-processed
Moon images on the internet, all of which miss the point — Moon colour needs to be subtle and very delicate
if it is to properly reflect what can be seen visually. The result should be something like Rudaux’s colour map,
not much more.
     Colour literally adds a new dimension to lunar stratigraphy. You can see lunar history in the ejecta blankets
from impact cratering and the way they are juxtaposed with older and younger features. Mare Imbrium becomes
a multi-layered structure with its reddish lava flows and submerged craters, while Oceanus Procellarum, with its
complex over-layering from the impacts of Copernicus, Kepler and Aristarchus, presents an incredibly detailed
account of post-maria lunar bombardment.
     Pools of deep blue basalt show clearly within Procellarum’s complex surface, and there is a bluish
colouration surrounding Aristarchus. Visually, Wood’s Spot appears yellow-brown and a reason for this could
be the marked contrast with Aristarchus, which sits right next to it. In 2005 the Hubble Advanced Camera for
Surveys imaged the Aristarchus region in visual and ultraviolet light. Using for comparison photometric data
from Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 soil samples, of which the chemistry is known, Aristarchus was found to have
high concentrations of glassy soils containing ilmenite, a titanium dioxide mineral, which may account for its
blue-ish, steel grey colour. Redder, much older sunlight-eroded, iron-rich lava flows on the Imbrian plain stand
in contrast to bluer basalts, while the yellow-brown colouration of the Aristarchus plateau suggests a covering




A mosaic of three lunar images taken on 2011 November 6 at 17:26 UT. The original unprocessed image is
                           at left, the enhanced image at right. Kevin Kilburn.

10                                              BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011
‘PlanetWarped’ image: Proclus and Mare Crisium. © A. Jennings. December 2005.
of orange glass, perhaps of pyroclastic origin, laid down during the Imbrian period.
     Colour-enhanced digital photography gives amateur observers a powerful tool to investigate lunar
stratigraphy. Working with Dr Phil Masding, at Manchester we have taken the investigation of Moon colour
further and have developed new techniques for its study. His ‘Planetwarp’ software ‘flattens’ images of the Moon
by getting rid of the effects of foreshortening, giving the impression that images have been taken from directly
overhead; ‘warped’ colour-enhanced images of the lunar maria look like Apollo pictures. Colour ‘draping’ is
another technique that will be described in a later article for the Circular.
     During the past six years my own lunar photography has been limited to using a 10-inch Meade LX200 and
DSLR cameras but I haven’t really been satisfied with the results because my astigmatic eyesight made focusing
difficult, even using ‘Live view’ on my Canon 550D. The wobbly SCT focuser didn’t help matters. Now, having
recently purchased a laptop computer, I can remote-control the camera and focus the image on the computer
screen. A new, dual-speed Crayford focuser also makes focussing much easier.
     The picture on p10 is a mosaic of three shots taken on 2011 November 6 at 17:26 UT. The left hand image
is a mosaic of three shots taken straight out of the camera. It has a dull, yellowish caste to it that I couldn’t see
when I was looking at the Moon that evening, sky transparency was crystal clear. In Photoshop I applied an
Image>Adjustment>Auto Levels correction to produces a ‘cleaner’ image that shows surface colour differences
much better when the colour saturation is tweaked up.

BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48    No. 12    December 2011                                                  11
While on the subject of image processing; I tried stacking DSLR images but found that even the slightest
‘seeing’ resulted in simply too many point details failing to register. It produces a rather ‘soft focus’ effect that
actually detracts from the final image. So, when using my DSLR at the SCT focus or using a x2 Barlow, I select
the best frames out of perhaps 50-100 shots (yes, it takes time) taken over a few minutes and mosaic just enough
to make a whole disc Moon picture. It shows surface colour quite well.
    But so what? It’s a nice Moon image, slightly colour enhanced, but it still doesn’t tell us much. The fact is
that DSLRs don’t produce big enough images, even when using a Barlow or other amplification. Unless pixel
size is matched to the resolving power of the telescope using significant optical pre-magnification at around the
equivalent of f/100 to satisfy or at least approach the Nyquist criterion, individual frames don’t show enough
detail to stack. Webcams are far better able to produce selected, registered and stacked frames from which to
build good quality images for colour enhancement, albeit of smaller areas of the lunar surface.
    I’m staggered by the high quality of the lunar images reproduced in the Lunar Section Circulars, especially
those taken with webcams. Now, if we can make colour images with webcams, and not necessarily at very high
magnification but bigger than can be produced with a DSLR, it gives us a very useful and powerful means of
exploring surface colouration. I have recently taken delivery of a Philips SPC900NC webcam modified to run
on my Windows 7 laptop, plus a Baader IR/UV cut-off filter, and I will be having a go. In the meantime, Nigel
Longshaw has sent me this list of lunar features that we might benefit from seeing at decent magnification and
enhanced to investigate surface colour. We never got around to doing this at the MAS but I am sure that BAA
Lunar Section observers will.

List of lunar features requiring high resolution images
Aristarchus                             Geminus                                 Mersenius
Atlas                                   Grimaldi                                Phocylides
Billy                                   Hercules                                Plato
Bullialdus                              Julius Caesar                           Ptolemaeus
Cruger                                  Langrenus                               Riccioli
Endymion                                Macrobius                               Schickard
Furnerius                               Marius                                  Stevinus

These features were monitored by the ‘Haas group’ and their results recorded in the 1942 paper by Haas Does
anything ever happen on the Moon? This paper provides the best descriptions of individual features and their
relevant ‘colours’. Many in the list may be referred to in the historical literature, but references have not yet been
checked. Additional references; T.G.E.Elger. 1896 The Observatory Vol. 19.                            Nigel Longshaw




12                                                BAA Lunar Section Circular     Vol. 48   No. 12     December 2011
Walter Goodacre and his ‘Ghost’ Rings                                                     Phil Morgan

Walter Goodacre was born in Loughborough in 1856 and very quickly
developed an interest in the Moon. When he left school he entered is
father’s carpet business, William Goodacre & Sons, which had factories
in both England and India. In 1883 he married Frances Evison, and
together they had two children, Eric and Gladys.
    Goodacre was a founder member of the BAA and in 1897 became
Lunar Section Director. In 1910 he published his famous 77-inch
lunar map, the result of many years intensive study and based on
1,433 measured points by S. A. Saunder. Later in 1932 he published
his classic book The Moon.
    Despite this, Goodacre will be best remembered by many for one
single outstanding observation – his five ‘ghost rings’ that he saw
occupying the space between the ‘comet tail’ or double ray that extends
westwards from Messier A for over 100 kilometres towards the crater
Lubbock H.                                   Walter Goodacre (1856-1938).




                                       Figure 1. Goodacre’s crater-rings.




                       Figure 2 (above). Inverted and high contrast LROC image.
  Figure 3 (below). Further pushed/inverted LROC image showing all four of the observed crater-rings.




BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48    No. 12   December 2011                                          13
Writing in the 9th Memoirs of the BAA Lunar Section he stated: ‘It will be seen that the course of the rays
covers the site of five obscure crater-rings, which have been reduced through erosion or other action almost
to a state of obliteration. One of the crater-rings shows the remains of central peak…these obscure crater rings
are only visible under certain conditions of phase, when they are not very difficult to see’.
    Goodacre claimed to have found confirmation of these rings on the Paris Atlas, which he had made use
of extensively in preparing his great lunar map. Unfortunately for Goodacre his ‘ghost rings’ remained
stubbornly illusive and enigmatic to all who tried to confirm them, with most searching in vain or only
glimpsing the remnants of one solitary ghost crater. Even the great Harold Hill told to me that he had searched
for Goodacre’s crater-rings on numerous occasions but without success.
    My own many observations of these elusive features tells a slightly different story to most, with four of
the ‘ghost craters’ seen clearly on several occasions. They are certainly not ‘easy’ objects to discern as
Goodacre claimed, but given adequate aperture and the right seeing conditions they can be made out. But just
why there are now only four is difficult to say! Figure 3 points to a possible location of the missing ring.
    Searching for conclusive photographing evidence to back up these visual observations has been
unsatisfactory, at least as far as Earth-based images are concerned. But today we are fortunate to have at our
disposal a wealth of spacecraft imagery of a quality that could only have been dreamed about a few years ago.
    Figure 2 shows a pushed-inverted (south up) LROC image of the region of the rays to the west of Messier
A. Outlined just to the right of Messier A is the second of Goodacre’s crater-rings, which shows up well in
this images as a dark circular area apparently filled with ray material. Further left the third ring can be just
made out, while at the extreme right the fourth can be more easily seen just left of a ridge that runs south east
to north west. Goodacre claimed that most easterly (classical) of his crater-rings had the remains of central
peak. This shows up as dark spot (arrowed) on Figure 3, which also shows the other three rings as seen
visually by myself.
    Walter Goodacre is remembered as one of the finest of British lunar observers. President of the BAA from
1922-24, he remained Lunar Section Director for just over 40 years, retiring in 1937. He died the following
year at his Bournemouth residence and was buried at Highgate Cemetery.




14                                              BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
Lunar images
Since November’s Lunar Section Circular, a superb selection of lunar images have been received from Mike
Brown, Maurice Collins, Jamie Cooper, Ed Crandall, David Finnigan, Bruce Kingsley, Bill Leatherbarrow,
David Scanlan, Jim Phillips and Larry Todd (note: not all of these contributors are BAA members).
    As usual, a lack of space prevents displaying most of these images here (there are literally dozens sent in
each month), but representative examples have been included. Note: If you are submitting images or
observational drawings to the LSC, in addition to emailing them to the editor, please also copy in your
contributions to the Director, Bill Leatherbarrow, who is maintaining an archive of material. It would greatly
help in cataloguing and archiving this material to include in each image file name the most relevant details of
your image/observation, including date, time(s), feature, instrument(s) and magnification, filter used (if any),
and observer’s name.

Mare Orientale on limb
After having viewed Mare Orientale at the lunar limb through binoculars in October (see November’s Lunar
Section Circular, p25), noting a prominent ‘dent’ at the Moon’s edge, Maurice Collins imported Bart
Declercq’s full Moon image (found at http://www.astronomie.be/bart.declercq/170MegapixelMoon/) into
LTVT. This allowed Maurice to do a comparison of the actual limb and the basin to show as a gap between
the mean limb and the actual. The resulting image nicely shows the depression that he observed. More
information can be found at Maurice’s website at http://moonscience.yolasite.com/resources/Mare-
Orientale%20_limb_flattening_191011_MCollins.jpg?timestamp=1320574522322




BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011                                                15
16   BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011   17
On 2011 October 10 Ed Crandall imaged the northern lunar limb (above) and the Sinus Aestuum-
        Pallas-Rima Hyginus area (below) using a 110 mm Apo f/6.5 and 3x Barlow with ToUcam.




18                                         BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
Bruce Kingsley imaged the Aristarchus area (above) on 2011 September 23 at 04:59 UT. Tremendous
detail can be discerned, including (in places) the medial rille in Vallis Schroteri and many small craters on
                           the floor of Herodotus. Detail from main image below.




BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011                                              19
Transient lunar phenomena, December 2011                                                        Tony Cook
Firstly I would like to wish all our observers a Happy Xmas. Observations for October 2011 were received
from the following observers: Jay Albert (Lake Worth, FL, USA) observed: Archimedes, Aristarchus, Atlas,
Censorinus, Copernicus, Earthshine, Fracastorius, Gassendi, Grimaldi, Petavius, Plato, and Proclus.. Gary
Beal (New Zealand) obtained images of the whole Moon. Maurice Collins (New Zealand) observed: Mare
Orientale, and took whole disk images of the Moon. Marie Cook (Mundesley, UK) observed: Aristarchus,
Kepler, Madler, Mare Imbrium, Mons Pico, and Plato. I took time lapse video of the Moon through narrow
band filters from Aberystwyth University. Peter Grego (St Dennis, UK) observed Gassendi. Norman Izitt
(New Zealand) took images of the large areas of the Moon. Kerry Koppert (New Zealand) took whole disk
images of the Moon. Piotr Malinksi (Poland) took images of the whole Moon. Fran Power (Ireland) took
nearly whole disk images of the Moon. Brendan Shaw (UK) observed: Aristarchus, Furnerius, Janssen K,
Kant, Messier and Torricelli B.

News: I have a couple of 3rd year Physics students working for me at Aberystwyth University looking for
impact flashes in Earthshine from now until April. If anybody would like to join in and help us combine light
curves to improve signal to noise ratios in the impact flash data, please let me know (the dates that we will
be observing Earthshine are listed at the bottom of this article. All you need is a light sensitive CCTV camera,
like the Watec 902H and the ability to capture digital video at say 10-15 GB/hour (but not MPEGed like one
gets on DVD recorders). This work would be ideal for occultation observers as one can kill two birds with
one stone.

TLP Reports: Two suspected TLPs were reported during October and I would welcome observations from
observers who were out on the nights concerned.
                                                                               Figure 1. Image
                                                                               sequence taken by
                                                                               Fran Power of the
                                                                               Moon’s terminator
                                                                               region. This has
                                                                               been corrected to
                                                                               remove spurious
                                                                               colour effects from
                                                                               our      atmosphere
                                                                               and/or optics. The
                                                                               TLP is visible in
                                                                               image (d) as an
                                                                               orange area on the
                                                                               inner illuminated
                                                                               rim of a crater.
                                                                               North is towards
                                                                               the top.

Apianus D on 2011 Oct 03 at UT 21:00-21:20: Fran Power (Meath, Ireland) was out looking at the Moon
through his 11” SCT, when he noticed on the inner western rim of a crater (the name of the crater was
unknown to him at the time) an apparent changing colour: blue, white and red. He changed the eyepieces and
moved the telescope around to different parts of the Moon, but found there was no other feature behaving
similarly. As a test, he called out his wife to have a look without telling her that there was anything unusual
to see, and she noticed the effect too. Five digital camera images were taken of most of the illuminated disk
(subsections are shown in figure 1) – the first image was saturated. Most of the images had focus issues, but
on the sharpest one, it is possible to see a distinct orange wedge shape of dimensions ~35 km long by ~11 km
wide (at the north end). I have checked all the other whole images thoroughly and can see no similar effects
on any other craters. There was evidence for atmospheric spectral dispersion in the images, but I have
calibrated this out in Figure 1 above and the coloured rim remains. As there is one picture only showing this

20                                             BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011
effect, I have no way of knowing if this is the same crater as was seen visually, but if it was then the crater
was Apianus D, a site not known for TLPs. Now on the downside, at the time of the TLP, the Moon was
between 6°-4° above the horizon and in general this is an exceedingly low altitude to be observing the Moon
at. However this low altitude does not explain really why the changing colour effect was seen at one particular
feature and not anywhere else, and furthermore remained visible in a different eyepiece. Without the low
altitude issue this report would have received a weight of 3-4 out of 5, as it had an element of independent
confirmation (albeit with the same scope) and also may have been caught on CCD. However I am going to
be cautious and assign a weight of 1 to reflect two facts: a) it was seen very close to the horizon – and this
would normally imply a weight of 1 or less, b) despite calibrating out spectral dispersion, I cannot account
fully for what was seen, and possibly imaged, not affecting other craters apparently. This will have a relatively
minor effect on future TLP statistical analysis. I would urge Fran to repeat the experiment, with the same
equipment to see if the effect shows up on other craters, especially with the Moon at low altitude. The only
chance we have of increasing the weight of this TLP report would be if somebody else was observing that
night around the same time e.g. perhaps some southern European observers?

Gasseendi on 2011 Oct 07 at 21:45 UT. Peter Grego
(St Dennis, UK, 30 cm Newtonian, 150x, seeing III,
intermittent cloud) was producing some PDA
sketches of the floor of Gassendi emerging from
shadow. A faint point of light was seen inside the
shadow filled interior, two thirds of the way from
where the central peak was towards the SE rim (see
figure 2). At the time, Peter mentioned some
uncertainty in being sure about this spot, and after
some interruption by cloud the spot was no longer
seen later in the evening at 22:30UT. In view of
Peter’s expressed uncertainty I am assigning a
weight of 1 to this TLP too.

Routine Reports: Back in 1974 Aug 03, Travnik
and Vianna observed a huge dark ink-like splotch on
the very bright sunlit floor of Atlas. The Cameron
1978 catalog assigns this a weight of 1 on the wishful
assumption that perhaps the spot was darker than
normal. Figure 3 is a copy of the original TLP report.
    On 2011 Oct 10, Jay Albert (Lake Worth, FL,
USA) re-observed Atlas under similar illumination
conditions to the above TLP report. Jay noted the
following: “Atlas — the large, ‘black’ (more like a
very dark grey) patch was immediately seen on the             Figure 2. Sketch by Peter Grego showing a
SE floor of the crater at the foot of the crater wall. suspected spot, on 2011 Oct 07, in the shadow filled
The patch was obvious, even at 70x and was almost floor of Gassendi (as indicated by the two markers).
circular at 311x. The patch was the darkest feature in      Sketch covers 21:30-21:55 UT. North is at top.
the 311x eyepiece field and was darker than the
darkest part of Hercules’ floor. I’ve often seen this patch before and it is not an LTP. I observed from 01:43
to 01:57 UT.” I have now removed this TLP from the BAA/ALPO TLP database by assigning a weight of 0.

On 1985 Dec 29 at UT 23:23-23:58 Martin Mobberley captured some video of the Moon and this contained
a TLP recorded in the 2006 TLP extension Cameron catalog: M. Mobberley (Bury St. Edmunds,
Suffolk, UK, seeing II-III) made a video scan of the Moon. P.W. Foley
examined the tape and noted something that Mobberley had not seen
visually. Two scans of Torricelli B had taken place, one at 23:23 and the
other at 23:58UT. In the first a brilliant point appeared briefly, on the

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011                                                21
western rim, positioned
                                                                            at 3 o'clock. In the
                                                                            second video sequence
                                                                            this brilliant spot was
                                                                            present         continuously
                                                                            and wandered along the
                                                                            rim. It was possible to
                                                                            monitor        frequency         of
                                                                            turbulence             present,
                                                                            this apparent movement
                                                                            did      not      appear         to
                                                                            conform,               although
                                                                            judgement           here       was
                                                                            extremely difficult as
                                                                            the      feature        was      at
                                                                            absolute           point         of
                                                                            resolution,          a     little
                                                                            better than 0.5 mile.
                                                                            Also considered was the
                                                                            implication            of      the
                                                                            equipment effect, this
                                                                            did not seem to fit
                                                                            either as other nearby
                                                                            craters in the same
                                                                            configuration,                 30%
                                                                            shadow         filled        with
                                                                            sunlight on exterior of
                                                                            western walls. A point
                                                                            to watch for in future.
                                                                            ALPO/BAA weight=3.
                                                                                On 2011 Oct 15 at 03:43 UT
                                                                            Brendan Shaw made a repeat
                                                                            illumination CCD image (see
 Figure 3. The original Atlas TLP report by Travnik and Vianna from         figure 4). This does not show any
                                 1974.                                      point like effect on the western
                                                                            rim, only the usual white land slide
spot on the NE, therefore for now the weight for this TLP shall stand at 3. Unfortunately we do not appear to
have the VHS tapes concerned in our archives, so cannot comment any further on this TLP report.

On 1984 Feb 12 KP Marshall reported the following concerning Moltke (extract from the Cameron 2006 TLP
extension catalog): Moltke observed by Marshall_KP on 1984-2-12. The UT given in the Cameron
2006 extension catalog are: 20:58, 23:25-02:20 and 01:40-04:00, however
it is not clear what UT applies to which of the observers or the two
features (Moltke and Plato) reported as having TLP on that night. On 1984
Feb 12-13 Marshall (South America, seeing=III-II) noticed that Moltke was
very bright with a fuzzy violet hue - he had never seen it like this
before. Cameron 2006 catalog extension TLP ID=240 and weight=2. ALPO/BAA
weight=3.
    Norman Izitt took an image of the Moon (see figure 5), close to one of repeat illuminations, and found
that Moltke was not very bright, nor did the image show up a violet haze. An image taken after Norman’s
image, by Maurice Collins, also did not show anything unusual about Moltke. For now the Moltke TLP will
remain at a weight of 3.


22                                             BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
Figure 4. Subsection of a CCD image by Brendan Shaw from 2011.Oct 15 of the Torricelli (bottom left
        corner) and Torricelli B (near top edge and slightly left of centre) area. North is at the top.

     Figure 5. Section of a CCD
image by Normal Izitt taken 2011
    Oct 07 UT 07:13-07:33 with
    Moltke highlighted. Image is
       contrast stretched, colour
normalized and colour saturation
   enhanced. North is at the top.

Suggested features to observe in
December: For those of you
without access to the Internet (in the
UK), below is a list of repeat
conditions for when a feature will
exhibit the same illumination and
libration as was seen for a historical LTP observation from the past. By re-observing and submitting your
observations, we will get a clear understanding of what the feature ought to have looked like at the time. Only this
way can we really fully analyze past LTP reports. N.B. There will be the remains of a total lunar eclipse at Moon
rise, on Dec 10 but it is unfavourable from the UK, only the last few minutes of final umbral contact will be seen.
2011-Dec-01 UT 16:38-20:38 Ill=44% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-08 UT 02:22-05:11 Ill=94% Aristarchus observed by Cook on 1985-05-02: Which part of the crater
looks the most blurred to you and is there any sign of a shadow?
2011-Dec-08 UT 15:48-19:21 Ill=97% Aristarchus observed by Le Croy on 1975-11-17: Please see how
Aristarchus and Herodotus appear together using a small scope. Can you detect any colour?
2011-Dec-09 UT 04:04-06:12 Ill=98% Aristarchus observed by Farrant on 1968-04-11: Any colour visible on
the walls?
2011-Dec-09/10 UT 23:13-02:21 Ill=100% Aristarchus observed by Mobbeley on 1984-12-07: Please image,
sketch and check for colour in the dark bands.
2011-Dec-10 UT 01:24-05:16 Ill=100% Thaetetus observed by Cherboneaux on 1902-10-16: Is there anything
resembling a white cloud near to this crater?
2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:12 Ill=100% Riccioli observed by Chernov on 1971-08-06: Please image or sketch
the dark spot in the crater.
2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:42 Ill=100% Atlas observed by Chernov on 1971-08-06: Please image or sketch the
two large spots in the crater.

BAA Lunar Section Circular    Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011                                                  23
2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:47 Ill=100% Delambra, Manilius, Menelaus observed by Le Croy on 1975-11-18/19:
Please compare these craters in brightness over time.
2011-Dec-13 UT 01:11-04:44 Ill=94% Aristarchus observed by Moore on 1982-09-13: How bright is the crater and
what colour is it?
2011-Dec-13 UT 01:11-04:44 Ill=94% Grimaldi observed by Moore on 1982-09-13: How would you rate the
brightness of Grimaldi A and is there any colour on the floor of Grimaldi?
2011-Dec-14 UT 06:16-08:17 Ill=87% Aristarchus and Kepler observed by Sekiguchi on 1970-03-26: Please take
wide area monochrome images showing these two craters over time.
2011-Dec-15 UT 03:01-05:36 Ill=80% Aristarchus observed by Bartlett on 1964-07-29: Is there any colour visible
in or around the crater?
2011-Dec-16 UT 04:30-08:19 Ill=70% Lichtenberg observed by Barcroft on 1940-10-22: Is there any colour visible?
2011-Dec-17 UT 03:01-05:36 Ill=60% Aristarchus observed by Bartlett on 1964-07-31: Is there any colour visible
in or around the crater?
2011-Dec-18 UT 02:50-07:34 Ill=47% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-19 UT 04:28-07:34 Ill=36% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-20 UT 06:27-07:35 Ill=25% Please check Earthshine for Dec Leonis Minorids and Ursids meteor shower
impact flashes.
2011-Dec-28 UT 16:42-18:10 Ill=18% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-29 UT 16:43-19:35 Ill=27% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-29 UT 18:23-21:26 Ill=26% Grimaldi observed by Lucas on 1970-04-11: Please monitor the brightness
of features within the crater over time.
2011-Dec-30 UT 16:44-20:51 Ill=36% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-30 UT 16:00-16:52 Ill=35% Proclus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-12: How bright is the area inside
(or outside) the NW of the crater?
2011-Dec-30 UT 18:23-21:26 Ill=35% Theophilus observed by Collier on 1970-04-12: Any sign of colour or flashes
inside the crater?
2011-Dec-30 UT 19:27-22:17 Ill=36% Alphonsus and Arzachel observed by Brook on 2001-06-26: Which central
peak is brighter and does this change over time?
2011-Dec-30 UT 22:27-22:36 Ill=37% Theophilus observed by Beaumont on 1993-12-19: Is there any sign of colour
on the central peak?
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:28 Ill=44% Cyrillus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: Is there a small bright crater in
western Cyrillus and how bright is it compared to other features in the area?
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:38 Ill=44% Aristarchus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: How bright is Aristarchus
in Earthshine and can you see any detail?
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:38 Ill=44% Mare Nubium observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: Any colour seen?
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-17:28 Ill=44% Mare Nectaris observed by Gaudibert on 1880-01-18: Would you describe
the appearance as foggy?
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-18:10 Ill=44% Hase observed by Dumas on 1970-04-13: Please sketch or image the east
wall of the crater.
2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-19:07 Ill=44% Challis, Gemma Frisius, Goldschmidt, Goodacre, Letronne observed by
Jean on 1970-04-13: Any colour seen in these features?
2011-Dec-31 UT 16:44-22:01 Ill=46% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes.
2011-Dec-31 UT 22:03-23:43 Ill=46% Menelaus observed by Whelan on 1970-04-13: Any colour visible on the
southern wall?
Repeat illumination (only) TLP predictions for the coming month can be found at http://users.aber.ac.uk/atc/tlp/tlp.htm
For members who do not have access to the Internet, please drop me a line and I will post predictions to you. If you
would like to join the TLP telephone alert team, please let me know your phone No. and how late you wish to be
contacted. If in the unlikely event you see a TLP, please give me a call on my cell phone: +44 (0)798 505 5681 and I
will alert other observers. Note when telephoning from outside the UK you must not use the (0). When phoning from
within the UK please do not use the +44! Twitter TLP alerts can be accessed on http://twitter.com/lunarnaut.
Dr Anthony Cook, Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth,
  Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3BZ, Wales, United Kingdom. Email: atc @ aber.ac.uk.

24                                                BAA Lunar Section Circular      Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011
Occultation news December 2011                                                              Tim Haymes
Observing double stars during occultation
Distinction between visual and binary systems is not made here, but most of the stars indicated in the
predictions are close enough to exhibit step events or fades, indicating they are close pairs. If the lunar motion
relative to the stars is about 30' arc in 1 hour, this is equivalent to about 0.5" arc per second. Occultation
observations open up the possibility of discovering new doubles or refining their orbits, as well as studying
the lunar limb. A pair separated by 0.5 arc second can be occulted individually giving rise to a ‘step-event’.
This phenomenon has been monitored by the subsection in the past. I’m not aware of any section observer
making a discovery. Can anyone correct me? Anomalous events have been reported, but few have been
confirmed independently by a second observer. However, we now have video at our disposal which is
indisputable evidence.
Here is a good example ZC 2066 by Dave4gee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=uCOAK9P1LCg

The Moon’s limb is capable of revealing doubles of separation 0.1" arc. Video at 25 fps allows a full analysis
of an event such as this example by Dave Herald: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S83iUfkC3Y (See Ref-
2)

ZC3524 double star occultation
A R Pratt (Leeds). Occultation of ZC3524 on 2011 Nov 06, 2223UT. Double star information: 7.4v 7.9v, sep
0.36", PA 262.0, Radial Velocity of the limb 0.185"/sec: ‘The star was quite bright (Mag 6.9), but there was
a lot of glare from the bright Moon, because of its gibbous phase (+86%) and the disappearance took place
at small cusp angle (19N) and position angle. The star disappears at frame 58, which occurs at 22:23:56.433
UT. There's no evidence of any fade or stepped disappearance of the star". [ This could be caused by the
glare, or an error in the PA of the double’. Equipment: Mintron at 25fps, 20cm f/20 Mak-Cass, VHS tape and
AME/Cuno GPS time-and-date inserter. Frame Analysis: Converted to AVI and run through LiMovie.




Occultation of ZC3524 with D in frame 58                      PA* of the double and the Cusp Angle of the
                                                              prediction *Position Angle given in the
                                                              Washington Double Star Catalogue

Observational Opportunities
Selected double star events:
ZC 313 on Dec 07 02h,        Primary v8.3 v8.3 sep 0.10" in PA 90
40 Ari on Dec 07 21h,        Primary v6.8 v6.8 sep 0.20" in PA 270
164036 on Dec 27 18:19,      Primary v9.4 v9.4 sep 0.25" in PA 88
51 Tau on Jan 06 23h,        Primary Aa,Ab v5.6 v8.1 0.11" in PA 357
Report observations to the coordinator. Both visual or video results gratefully received.

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011                                                 25
Predictions for Birmingham
Longitude 001 44'44.0"W, Latitude 52 27 41.0, Alt.50m; Telescope dia 15cm;




Occultation predictions for Birmingham predicted with Occult 4 software by David Herald. Longitude 001°
44’44.0”W, Latitude 52° 27’ 41.0” N, Alt. 50m; Telescope dia. 15cm. A double or multiple star is indicated
as **. All events occur at the dark limb. Some events are close to Full Moon, but can be observed under
good conditions with high contrast optics. Detailed information about the double and multiple stars has been
removed from this list. This information is available from the co-coordinator. Some selected events are
indicated above.

Ref-1 Journal of Double Star Observations http://www.jdso.org/
Ref-2 SAO 97883 - A New Double Star (D. Herald, R. Sandy) [Detected by Video during a Graze]
http://www.jdso.org/volume5/number4/Herald.pdf

     Occultations Co-ordinator: Tim Haymes, Hill Rise, Knowl Hill Common, Reading, RG10 9YD.
                                 occultation@baalunarsection.org.uk

Next month there will be a listing of graze occultations for the UK, 2012 January 1 to May 31, along with
a map and information on how to select a graze observing site and how to go about observing grazes.




26                                            BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12   December 2011
Lunar data for December 2011 (from a program by Gareth Williams)




  BAA Lunar Section Contacts                            To receive B&W printed copies of the Lunar Section
                                                         Circular, please send a supply of stamped addressed
  Director                                              envelopes to the Lunar Section Director. Envelopes at
  Bill Leatherbarrow                                      least 11 x 22 cm will ensure no damage in transit.
          director@baalunarsection.org.uk               Members who have Internet access may receive their
                                                          Circulars (colour version) in PDF format by email
  Assistant Directors                                   (please contact the Director) or by downloading them
  Tony Cook (with responsibility for TLP work)             directly from the BAA Lunar Section website at
         tlp@baalunarsection.org.uk                        http://www.baalunarsection.org.uk/circulars.htm.

  Peter Grego (Circulars Editor)                         BAA Lunar Section Director: Bill Leatherbarrow,
         editor@baalunarsection.org.uk                    9 Stumperlowe Avenue, Sheffield, S10 3QN, UK.
                                                               Email: director@baalunarsection.org.uk
  Committee Members
  Tim Haymes (Occultations)                              Observations and items related to a specific area of
         occultation@baalunarsection.org.uk             lunar study should be sent to the appropriate member
  Robert Garfinkle (Historical Consultant)               of the BAA Lunar Section Committee, but send any
         history@baalunarsection.org.uk                     material of a more general nature to the Editor.
  Bruce Kingsley (Imaging Consultant)
         photography@baalunarsection.org.uk                   Deadline for items for the January 2012
  Nigel Longshaw                                                     Lunar Section Circular:
  Brendan Shaw (Archivist)                                             15 December 2011.
         archives@baalunarsection.org.uk
  Computing Consultant (position vacant)                Circulars Editor: Peter Grego, 7 Parc-An-Bre Drive,
         compute@baalunarsection.org.uk                   St Dennis, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8AS, UK.
                                                               Email: editor@baalunarsection.org.uk

BAA Lunar Section Circular   Vol. 48   No. 12    December 2011                                                  27

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2011 12-lsc

  • 1. The British Astronomical Association Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 Director: Bill Leatherbarrow Editor: Peter Grego From the Director A very brief column this month. I write this well ahead of the normal deadline, as I am about to depart on a trip abroad (although, confusingly, I shall be well back by the time you read this). So, everything is a bit rushed this month, but I shall try to make up with a more substantial contribution to the next Circular! By the time this Circular is issued I shall have taken over from David Boyd as BAA President. Several members have written to ask if I shall be continuing as Lunar Section Director during my presidency. I certainly intend to try, and I am very fortunate in having two very able and hard- working assistant directors as well as a supportive Section committee. I am already extremely grateful for the help they provide, and I expect I shall be even more in their debt over the next couple of years. In my contribution to the November Circular I reproduced John Russell’s large pastel painting The Face of the Moon (circa some sketches of Eratosthenes by 1795) is a wonderfully accurate depiction of a waxing gibbous Moon, W.H. Pickering. Unfortunately, as as seen through a telescope. The painting hangs in Soho House in several keen-eyed readers have Birmingham, once the meeting place of the Lunar Society, the greatest observed, the year of those provincial philosophical society in 18th Century England. Russell observations is wrongly given in himself was not one of the ‘Lunatics’, but as an artist had a keen the caption as 1901. The actual interest in astronomy; The Face of the Moon is one of the first year is 1918, as given by Pickering accurate lunar colour renditions. Inside, Kevin Kilburn discusses in his article in Popular lunar colour and the exciting possibilities in capturing colour Astronomy, vol. XXVII, no. 9 available to modern lunar observers and imagers. (November 1919). Apologies for the typo, but the colongitude values given on the individual drawings are enough to allow the modern observer to repeat Pickering’s observations under similar conditions. I hope you will try to do so! Finally (although it seems very odd to be writing this at the end of October!), best wishes to all of you for the upcoming festive season! Until next month, clear skies. Bill Leatherbarrow Director, BAA Lunar Section
  • 2. Topographical notes compiled by Peter Grego Visual studies and observations Since November’s LSC topographic observations have been received from Colin Ebdon (Fordham Heath, UK), Peter Grego (St Dennis, UK), Chuck Hastorf (Arizona, USA), Phil Morgan (Tenbury Wells, UK) and Sally Russell (UK). The observations are reproduced below. Historic books online Exciting news from Maurice Collins (Palmerston North, New Zealand), who writes: ‘I’ve created a new webpage of links to historic astronomical ebooks (pdf, epub, Kindle, etc) on my website at: http://moonscience.yolasite.com/e-books.php It covers the Moon, Mars, Galaxies, Sun, Observatories etc. Just whatever I have come across so far. All are free to download of course (as far as I can tell anyway). Most are old, but still interesting to read. I have been especially enjoying the books by George Ellery Hale, he was a very enthusiastic astronomer! Hope there will be something there for everyone, and I’ll add more as I come across them over time.’ A screenshot of Maurice’s e-book web page. Height of lunar features and LTVT There has been a flurry of discussion between Maurice Collins, Robin Vann, Chuck Hastorf and Philip Jennings about estimating the height of lunar features on the BAA Lunar Section Topographic Studies Yahoo! Group pages at http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/baalunarsection-topography/ Philip writes: ‘I have an interest in attempting a little lunar trigonometry this winter — I’d love to try estimating the height of features from the length of their shadows. I know this method probably doesn’t have much scientific value these days, but it would be a fun project! My problem is this — I need to know the angle of illumination for the exact time of observation, but I can’t find any way of getting my hands on this data. Does anyone know of a tool to help with this? Then I have the problem of how I go about measuring the length of shadows — I don’t have a micrometer!’ In response, Maurice writes: ‘The Lunar Terminator Visualization Tool (LTVT) should help you do this: http://ltvt.wikispaces.com/LTVT a brief setup guide I wrote to get people going is here: http://moonscience.yolasite.com/resources/LTVT%20setup.pdf I am sure LTVT will help you work out what you need. You can even import your image into it (under Calibrate User Image) and work from there.’ LTVT is a multifaceted tool capable of enhancing or even creating new lines of lunar research. I have recently started using LTVT to produce templates for visual observational drawings (see below); unlike 2 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 3. producing observing blanks from lunar charts, LTVT generated images they have the advantage of being corrected libration. By knowing roughly what to expect to see in terms of shadows, this is by no means ‘cheating’; I import the LTVT image into my drawing program onto my handheld computer and create a low- contrast image which is used to draw directly upon. The ability to get the positions of the craters and other features correct frees up more time to concentrate upon detail — a relatively modest telescope is capable of revealing more detail than the LTVT models, especially at very low angles of illumination. Hesiodus and Rima Hesiodus Peter Grego The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a low-contrast drawing template was prepared using LTVT to ensure positional accuracy. This template was transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the telescope eyepiece. Hesiodus was its own diameter from the sunrise terminator, and owing to the limitations of the template most of its eastern wall lay outside the drawing. About half of Hesiodus’ interior was covered with shadows cast by its eastern rim, its southern floor completely covered with shadow while its northern floor was crossed by a couple of prominent shadow spires; the southern most of these, crossing the central part of the floor, lay adjacent to the small central crater Hesiodus D. Immediately north and northwest of Hesiosus was a cluster of north-south aligned mountain ridges, the westernmost of these (just for the purposes of this report, designated Hesiodus NW Alpha) casting half a dozen shadow spires to the west across Mare Nubium; the longest of these touched the southern tip of a low north-south ridge in the mare. This ridge (just for the purposes of this report, designated Ridge A) could be traced north to the edge of the area depicted, crossing the shadow cast by Hesiodus B and to the shadow cast by a small unnamed mountain spur shown at the top of the sketch. Hesiodus B was largely full of shadow and it cast a long pointed shadow which just failed to meet the terminator. East of Hesiodus B was observed the ruined crater Hesiodus X, whose walls formed a disjointed arc of peaks; its northern wall is presumed to be buried beneath the mare, but there was a slight indication of shadowing running around the northeast where the wall is presumed to be buried. The large blunt shadow cast by the main component of Hesiodus X’s western wall met the lower slopes of Hesiodus B’s outer eastern wall. Rima Hesiodus emerged from the shadow cast by Hesiodus’ northwestern rim and could be traced across the mare to the sunrise terminator; although linear, Rima Hesiodus appeared slightly irregular along its length, with slight variations in the brightness of its inner northern wall, hinted at in this sketch. Rima Hesiodus ran across a linear shadowing running from the southern tip of the aforementioned Hesiodus NW Alpha to the shadow cast by Hesiodus A. Hesiodus A, adjoining Hesiodus’ southwestern wall, was largely shadow-filled, and its western rim cast a long broad shadow which failed to meet the terminator; a small mountain was observed catching sunlight above the shadow to the west of southern Hesiodus A, giving the shadow group a multi- spired appearance. The southern edge of the sketch took in ridges along northern Weiss, and part of Weiss E was observed catching sunlight beyond the terminator. The terminator itself was complicated, and there were suggestions of a low ridge, particularly southwest of Hesiodus B, where a dark linear northeast-southwest shading linked the aforementioned Ridge A to the terminator. Immediately west of the aforementioned Hesiodus NW Alpha there appeared a small elongated hill, not very bright, catching sunlight. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 3
  • 4. Ramsden and Rimae Ramsden Peter Grego The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a low-contrast drawing template was prepared using LTVT to ensure positional accuracy. This template was transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the telescope eyepiece. One of the objective of this session was to observe the Rimae Ramsden network of rilles to the east of Ramsden as they emerged into the lunar morning light. It transpired that seeing, plus slight mist and some interference from bonfire smoke reduced the contrast so that fine detail was difficult to discern. Only the eastern outer wall of Ramsden itself was illuminated. Two hills to the east of Ramsden formed the junction of the rilles running across Palus Epidemiarum. The two north-branching rilles were only seen during moments of better seeing, one running north towards Marth, the other northeast towards a mountain ridge radial to Capuanus (only Capuanus’ western half is depicted in this observation). The shadow cast by Capuanus’ western rim was extensive and covered Capuanus P save for its inner western wall. Nearby, Elger was largely full of shadow. To the south was a complicated mass of north-south trending hills and mountains. Several craters were noted in Palus Epidemiarum, one of which, southwest of Mercator, was set in brighter surroundings than the rest of the mare. Mercator, at top right in this observation, was one-third filled with shadow, and the portion of floor visible was smooth and featureless. A large mountain ridge extended south from Mercator, casting a broad shadow westward. Westward from the southern tip of this mountain appeared a faint dusky line which was the ill- defined western reaches of Rima Hesiodus. Beyond the morning terminator were numerous high points catching sunlight, including the outer eastern wall of Lepaute, west of Ramsden. Doppelmayer Peter Grego The area was chosen prior to the observing session and a low-contrast drawing template was prepared using LTVT to ensure positional accuracy. This template was transferred to the PDA and directly drawn over at the telescope eyepiece. Doppelmayer, on the southern shoreline of Mare Humorum, presented a wonderful visual Join us at our Yahoo! Group Lunar Topographic Studies If you’d like to view many more BAA Lunar Section members’ observational drawings, along with some of the observations featured in previous Lunar Section Circulars, you’re welcome to join our Yahoo! Group at: http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/baalunarsection-topography/ 4 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 5. sight as it emerged from the morning terminator. The western half of its floor was covered in shadow cast by its large central peak and ridge to its northwest, and much of the southern half of Doppelmayer’s floor was also shadow-filled. The inner western wall’s upper reaches were illuminated and ran around the crater in a near-continuous band with some subtle shadings here and there. Beyond it to the west were several illuminated arcs of high terrain parallel to the western wall. Doppelmayer’s northwestern flanks have been largely obliterated by lava flows from Mare Humorum, but it appeared that the northeastern sector of the crater’s floor bounded by the wall remnants was slightly darker than the adjoining mare. South of Doppelmayer, west of Lee, were numerous areas catching sunlight, some representing higher relief, some defined by surrounding shadow. The mid-inner western wall of Lee was very bright. Vitello, whose illuminated inner western wall can just be seen at right, cast a wide multi-pronged shadow towards Lee. The terrain south of Lee and Vitello was very complicated and only roughly portrayed in this observation. Low ridges ran north of Lee towards Puiseux, and another low ridge ran north of Vitello across Mare Humorum. Lunar observations by Chuck Hastorf Below are digital drawings by Chuck Hastorf based upon sketches made at the eyepiece. The observation above (whose text may not be readable at this scale) was made on 2011 November 3 at 01:00- 03:10 UT using a 5-inch SCT (NexStar 5SE). BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 5
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  • 7. What are we to do with lunar colour imaging? Kevin J Kilburn As a recently re-joining member of the BAA Lunar Section, after a lapse of some 25 years, I was pleased to see that during 2010 there had been some correspondence in the Lunar Section Circulars on the topic of Moon colour and some whole disc photography. I particularly liked Ray Emery’s article in LSC Vol. 48, No.5, May 2011. But I was equally surprised that relatively little has been done to utilize this inherent property of the lunar surface to investigate topographical features in more than a cursory fashion. Using surface colour to show us the stratigraphic history of the lunar surface offers a great opportunity to learn more about the Moon. Lunar surface colour and TLP have been an interest for over 40 years at Manchester Astronomical Society; Nigel Longshaw and I once spent an hour or so attempting to see colour with the 8-inch refractor at the Godlee Observatory, but my current interest was sparked in December 2005 when another of our members, Anthony Jennings, showed some multiple-stacked, colour enhanced digital images taken with a Philips ToUcam Pro II webcam and an 8-inch Schmidt-Newtonian, then mosaicing the individual frames to build this image. Earlier that year, some extremely colour-exaggerated amateur pictures had been published in Sky & Telescope, but they simply mimicked the remarkable colour image sent back by the Galileo spacecraft as it left for Jupiter. By comparison, Anthony's pictures showed moon colour as it could seen visually.It started a project at the MAS to further investigate Moon colour http://www.manastro.co.uk/projects/mooncolour.htm A colourful lunar history The Moon appears dazzlingly bright; a contrast effect against the darker night sky. Its subtle colours are barely detectable by the colour-sensitive cones in the retina, that are themselves far less sensitive than the more light- sensitive (and glare-bedazzled) rods. Surface colour is difficult to see. The best way is to attempt to draw it; think to yourself, how would you draw what’s on view? Would black ink on a white background really be enough to capture the yellowish Aristarchus plateau? No, definitely not. Would the more subtle use of charcoal or pencil depict it more faithfully in shades of grey — or would you include coloured pencil, perhaps cream or yellow, or even blue, brown or orange? Now you have it, you are beginning to see the Moon’s colour; it is real. Some will see lunar colour more easily than others, it depends on the individual’s colour perception and sensitivity, but once detected, the colour becomes obvious. It’s therefore not too surprising that probably the first coloured depictions of the Moon were made by English artist, John Russell, at the end of the 18th Century. One can be seen at Soho House, Handsworth, Birmingham and others at the Museum for the History of Science, Oxford. The first coloured Moon map of which I am aware is by the French astronomer and artist, Lucien Rudaux, drawn for the 1948 French edition of the Larousse Encyclopaedia of Astronomy (translated into English in 1967). Rudaux’s map closely matches colour enhanced whole-disc digital images. Visually, the area that stands out most is Wood’s Spot, first described in 1910 by physicist R.W. Wood, a rhomboid with a side of 200 km (125 miles) immediately northwest of Aristarchus. Even a 3-inch telescope will BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 7
  • 8. detect colour here and, with a bigger instrument and a reasonably high magnification to isolate the feature and reduce glare, the yellowish-brown of Wood’s Spot really shows up. In 1922, Wood recorded it as having a spectral reflectivity similar to the sulphurous deposits around some volcanic regions on Earth. Colour enhanced digital images show it as a dirty yellow, by far the strongest colour shade on the earthward face of the Moon. Another colourful region, best seen with lower magnification, is Mare Serenitatis. Its lighter centre is a distinctly ‘warmer’ shade than the dark eastern rim of bluish basalt overflowing from Mare Tranquillitatis. Some observers have reported seeing Mare Fecunditatis, near to the crater Langrenus, as a cool green. However, the warm tints of lava spreading across most of the northeast corner of Mare Imbrium are, to many, more difficult to discern. While most of the lunar maria show some surface colour, the heavily cratered southern Colour enhanced image of the Aristarchus area by Roel Alvarez. hemisphere does not. This bombarded landscape pre-dates by a billion years the formation of the maria. Although reddened and slightly darkened by eaons of space- weathering against which Tycho’s more recent rays and ejecta show white, most of this ancient landscape does not show the colours seen in the discrete geological units of the younger mare basalts. Observations of lunar colour have been useful to professional lunar scientists for over a century. Since 1910, studies have concentrated on measuring the Moon’s surface photometry with calibrated colour filters. Comparison of monochrome lunar photographs taken through different filters, showed the difference in the relative brightness of the surface according to which colour filter was used. In 1929 WH Wright described using the 36-inch Crossley reflector at the Lick Observatory to take pairs of prime focus photographs in ultraviolet and infrared. In these images, reddish colour showed dark in the ultraviolet, and bluer colour showed dark in the near infrared. Wood’s Spot showed the greatest difference: he observed it was very dark in the ultraviolet but barely showing in the infrared image. He found the next most conspicuous colour difference in Mare Imbrium, near Sinus Iridum, where the infrared image ‘showed a dark marking sprawling irregularly over the lower part of the sea and ramifying into the bay’. Although Wright’s observations didn’t convey what Moon colour really looked like, his technique enabled the reflectivity of the maria in different wavelengths to be compared with rock samples from volcanic areas on Earth. This established that the rocks of the lunar maria were similar to terrestrial basalts and lavas, decades before physical samples were available. In the 1950s, monochrome photographs taken by Dinsmore Alter, director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, were also used to isolate colour differences. He combined a negative image taken through a filter of 8 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 9. one colour with a positive image taken through a filter of a different colour; as in the case of Wright’s earlier work, the greatest contrasts were obtained with the greatest wavelength separation, where the colour differences were most contrasted. Ewen Whitaker at the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, extended this technique in the 1960s. By the early 1970s, the Apollo era had arrived and samples retrieved from the lunar surface could be compared with terrestrial rocks as ‘ground truth’ material. These comparisons analysed mineral content and spectrophotometric signatures — or the intensity of reflected light at different colours — to better understand the Moon’s chemical composition. Moon colour paid dividends here, and was also employed by multi-spectral, remote surveys on orbiting Apollo spacecraft. Later science missions, like the Clementine lunar mission and the Galileo probe also made observations of colour. The latter, en route to Jupiter, studied the relative age distribution and stratigraphy, or layering, of lunar cratering that followed the flooding of the major mare basins some 3 billion years ago. For amateur observers, lunar colour has always seemed to be just on or below the threshold of visual BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 9
  • 10. detection. Its long history demonstrates that any competent observer could have visually investigated Moon colour at any time during the past 100 years, yet few observers have recorded it. A 1940 paper called The Harvests of Plato by British observer Robert Barker in the magazine Popular Astronomy carries significant colour references, otherwise the best sources of colour observation are occasional reports from the BAA lunar section in the Journal of the BAA. In the 1950s and mid-1960s, VA Firsoff’s book Strange World of the Moon and Gilbert Fielder’s work Lunar Geology refer to surface colour. Fielder, a Manchester astronomer working with Prof. Z Kopal, carried out his investigations of lunar colour from the Pic du Midi Observatory as part of NASA’s pre-Apollo lunar research project. However, these are the exceptions. Most contemporary Moon observers do not mention colour, and this can be put down to the difficulty of seeing it. Digital photography Nowadays, though, we have a new tool: digital photography can easily show Moon colour. Unlike traditional photography, digital pictures of the Moon contain far more information, which is easily extracted with image- processing software. Any decent, well-focused picture of the full Moon taken through a telescope can be processed to show Moon colour. This is the case whether the image is of the whole disc or a close-up of any particular lunar region. Do not over-saturate the colour; there are many examples of gaudy, over-processed Moon images on the internet, all of which miss the point — Moon colour needs to be subtle and very delicate if it is to properly reflect what can be seen visually. The result should be something like Rudaux’s colour map, not much more. Colour literally adds a new dimension to lunar stratigraphy. You can see lunar history in the ejecta blankets from impact cratering and the way they are juxtaposed with older and younger features. Mare Imbrium becomes a multi-layered structure with its reddish lava flows and submerged craters, while Oceanus Procellarum, with its complex over-layering from the impacts of Copernicus, Kepler and Aristarchus, presents an incredibly detailed account of post-maria lunar bombardment. Pools of deep blue basalt show clearly within Procellarum’s complex surface, and there is a bluish colouration surrounding Aristarchus. Visually, Wood’s Spot appears yellow-brown and a reason for this could be the marked contrast with Aristarchus, which sits right next to it. In 2005 the Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys imaged the Aristarchus region in visual and ultraviolet light. Using for comparison photometric data from Apollo 15 and Apollo 17 soil samples, of which the chemistry is known, Aristarchus was found to have high concentrations of glassy soils containing ilmenite, a titanium dioxide mineral, which may account for its blue-ish, steel grey colour. Redder, much older sunlight-eroded, iron-rich lava flows on the Imbrian plain stand in contrast to bluer basalts, while the yellow-brown colouration of the Aristarchus plateau suggests a covering A mosaic of three lunar images taken on 2011 November 6 at 17:26 UT. The original unprocessed image is at left, the enhanced image at right. Kevin Kilburn. 10 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 11. ‘PlanetWarped’ image: Proclus and Mare Crisium. © A. Jennings. December 2005. of orange glass, perhaps of pyroclastic origin, laid down during the Imbrian period. Colour-enhanced digital photography gives amateur observers a powerful tool to investigate lunar stratigraphy. Working with Dr Phil Masding, at Manchester we have taken the investigation of Moon colour further and have developed new techniques for its study. His ‘Planetwarp’ software ‘flattens’ images of the Moon by getting rid of the effects of foreshortening, giving the impression that images have been taken from directly overhead; ‘warped’ colour-enhanced images of the lunar maria look like Apollo pictures. Colour ‘draping’ is another technique that will be described in a later article for the Circular. During the past six years my own lunar photography has been limited to using a 10-inch Meade LX200 and DSLR cameras but I haven’t really been satisfied with the results because my astigmatic eyesight made focusing difficult, even using ‘Live view’ on my Canon 550D. The wobbly SCT focuser didn’t help matters. Now, having recently purchased a laptop computer, I can remote-control the camera and focus the image on the computer screen. A new, dual-speed Crayford focuser also makes focussing much easier. The picture on p10 is a mosaic of three shots taken on 2011 November 6 at 17:26 UT. The left hand image is a mosaic of three shots taken straight out of the camera. It has a dull, yellowish caste to it that I couldn’t see when I was looking at the Moon that evening, sky transparency was crystal clear. In Photoshop I applied an Image>Adjustment>Auto Levels correction to produces a ‘cleaner’ image that shows surface colour differences much better when the colour saturation is tweaked up. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 11
  • 12. While on the subject of image processing; I tried stacking DSLR images but found that even the slightest ‘seeing’ resulted in simply too many point details failing to register. It produces a rather ‘soft focus’ effect that actually detracts from the final image. So, when using my DSLR at the SCT focus or using a x2 Barlow, I select the best frames out of perhaps 50-100 shots (yes, it takes time) taken over a few minutes and mosaic just enough to make a whole disc Moon picture. It shows surface colour quite well. But so what? It’s a nice Moon image, slightly colour enhanced, but it still doesn’t tell us much. The fact is that DSLRs don’t produce big enough images, even when using a Barlow or other amplification. Unless pixel size is matched to the resolving power of the telescope using significant optical pre-magnification at around the equivalent of f/100 to satisfy or at least approach the Nyquist criterion, individual frames don’t show enough detail to stack. Webcams are far better able to produce selected, registered and stacked frames from which to build good quality images for colour enhancement, albeit of smaller areas of the lunar surface. I’m staggered by the high quality of the lunar images reproduced in the Lunar Section Circulars, especially those taken with webcams. Now, if we can make colour images with webcams, and not necessarily at very high magnification but bigger than can be produced with a DSLR, it gives us a very useful and powerful means of exploring surface colouration. I have recently taken delivery of a Philips SPC900NC webcam modified to run on my Windows 7 laptop, plus a Baader IR/UV cut-off filter, and I will be having a go. In the meantime, Nigel Longshaw has sent me this list of lunar features that we might benefit from seeing at decent magnification and enhanced to investigate surface colour. We never got around to doing this at the MAS but I am sure that BAA Lunar Section observers will. List of lunar features requiring high resolution images Aristarchus Geminus Mersenius Atlas Grimaldi Phocylides Billy Hercules Plato Bullialdus Julius Caesar Ptolemaeus Cruger Langrenus Riccioli Endymion Macrobius Schickard Furnerius Marius Stevinus These features were monitored by the ‘Haas group’ and their results recorded in the 1942 paper by Haas Does anything ever happen on the Moon? This paper provides the best descriptions of individual features and their relevant ‘colours’. Many in the list may be referred to in the historical literature, but references have not yet been checked. Additional references; T.G.E.Elger. 1896 The Observatory Vol. 19. Nigel Longshaw 12 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 13. Walter Goodacre and his ‘Ghost’ Rings Phil Morgan Walter Goodacre was born in Loughborough in 1856 and very quickly developed an interest in the Moon. When he left school he entered is father’s carpet business, William Goodacre & Sons, which had factories in both England and India. In 1883 he married Frances Evison, and together they had two children, Eric and Gladys. Goodacre was a founder member of the BAA and in 1897 became Lunar Section Director. In 1910 he published his famous 77-inch lunar map, the result of many years intensive study and based on 1,433 measured points by S. A. Saunder. Later in 1932 he published his classic book The Moon. Despite this, Goodacre will be best remembered by many for one single outstanding observation – his five ‘ghost rings’ that he saw occupying the space between the ‘comet tail’ or double ray that extends westwards from Messier A for over 100 kilometres towards the crater Lubbock H. Walter Goodacre (1856-1938). Figure 1. Goodacre’s crater-rings. Figure 2 (above). Inverted and high contrast LROC image. Figure 3 (below). Further pushed/inverted LROC image showing all four of the observed crater-rings. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 13
  • 14. Writing in the 9th Memoirs of the BAA Lunar Section he stated: ‘It will be seen that the course of the rays covers the site of five obscure crater-rings, which have been reduced through erosion or other action almost to a state of obliteration. One of the crater-rings shows the remains of central peak…these obscure crater rings are only visible under certain conditions of phase, when they are not very difficult to see’. Goodacre claimed to have found confirmation of these rings on the Paris Atlas, which he had made use of extensively in preparing his great lunar map. Unfortunately for Goodacre his ‘ghost rings’ remained stubbornly illusive and enigmatic to all who tried to confirm them, with most searching in vain or only glimpsing the remnants of one solitary ghost crater. Even the great Harold Hill told to me that he had searched for Goodacre’s crater-rings on numerous occasions but without success. My own many observations of these elusive features tells a slightly different story to most, with four of the ‘ghost craters’ seen clearly on several occasions. They are certainly not ‘easy’ objects to discern as Goodacre claimed, but given adequate aperture and the right seeing conditions they can be made out. But just why there are now only four is difficult to say! Figure 3 points to a possible location of the missing ring. Searching for conclusive photographing evidence to back up these visual observations has been unsatisfactory, at least as far as Earth-based images are concerned. But today we are fortunate to have at our disposal a wealth of spacecraft imagery of a quality that could only have been dreamed about a few years ago. Figure 2 shows a pushed-inverted (south up) LROC image of the region of the rays to the west of Messier A. Outlined just to the right of Messier A is the second of Goodacre’s crater-rings, which shows up well in this images as a dark circular area apparently filled with ray material. Further left the third ring can be just made out, while at the extreme right the fourth can be more easily seen just left of a ridge that runs south east to north west. Goodacre claimed that most easterly (classical) of his crater-rings had the remains of central peak. This shows up as dark spot (arrowed) on Figure 3, which also shows the other three rings as seen visually by myself. Walter Goodacre is remembered as one of the finest of British lunar observers. President of the BAA from 1922-24, he remained Lunar Section Director for just over 40 years, retiring in 1937. He died the following year at his Bournemouth residence and was buried at Highgate Cemetery. 14 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 15. Lunar images Since November’s Lunar Section Circular, a superb selection of lunar images have been received from Mike Brown, Maurice Collins, Jamie Cooper, Ed Crandall, David Finnigan, Bruce Kingsley, Bill Leatherbarrow, David Scanlan, Jim Phillips and Larry Todd (note: not all of these contributors are BAA members). As usual, a lack of space prevents displaying most of these images here (there are literally dozens sent in each month), but representative examples have been included. Note: If you are submitting images or observational drawings to the LSC, in addition to emailing them to the editor, please also copy in your contributions to the Director, Bill Leatherbarrow, who is maintaining an archive of material. It would greatly help in cataloguing and archiving this material to include in each image file name the most relevant details of your image/observation, including date, time(s), feature, instrument(s) and magnification, filter used (if any), and observer’s name. Mare Orientale on limb After having viewed Mare Orientale at the lunar limb through binoculars in October (see November’s Lunar Section Circular, p25), noting a prominent ‘dent’ at the Moon’s edge, Maurice Collins imported Bart Declercq’s full Moon image (found at http://www.astronomie.be/bart.declercq/170MegapixelMoon/) into LTVT. This allowed Maurice to do a comparison of the actual limb and the basin to show as a gap between the mean limb and the actual. The resulting image nicely shows the depression that he observed. More information can be found at Maurice’s website at http://moonscience.yolasite.com/resources/Mare- Orientale%20_limb_flattening_191011_MCollins.jpg?timestamp=1320574522322 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 15
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  • 18. On 2011 October 10 Ed Crandall imaged the northern lunar limb (above) and the Sinus Aestuum- Pallas-Rima Hyginus area (below) using a 110 mm Apo f/6.5 and 3x Barlow with ToUcam. 18 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 19. Bruce Kingsley imaged the Aristarchus area (above) on 2011 September 23 at 04:59 UT. Tremendous detail can be discerned, including (in places) the medial rille in Vallis Schroteri and many small craters on the floor of Herodotus. Detail from main image below. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 19
  • 20. Transient lunar phenomena, December 2011 Tony Cook Firstly I would like to wish all our observers a Happy Xmas. Observations for October 2011 were received from the following observers: Jay Albert (Lake Worth, FL, USA) observed: Archimedes, Aristarchus, Atlas, Censorinus, Copernicus, Earthshine, Fracastorius, Gassendi, Grimaldi, Petavius, Plato, and Proclus.. Gary Beal (New Zealand) obtained images of the whole Moon. Maurice Collins (New Zealand) observed: Mare Orientale, and took whole disk images of the Moon. Marie Cook (Mundesley, UK) observed: Aristarchus, Kepler, Madler, Mare Imbrium, Mons Pico, and Plato. I took time lapse video of the Moon through narrow band filters from Aberystwyth University. Peter Grego (St Dennis, UK) observed Gassendi. Norman Izitt (New Zealand) took images of the large areas of the Moon. Kerry Koppert (New Zealand) took whole disk images of the Moon. Piotr Malinksi (Poland) took images of the whole Moon. Fran Power (Ireland) took nearly whole disk images of the Moon. Brendan Shaw (UK) observed: Aristarchus, Furnerius, Janssen K, Kant, Messier and Torricelli B. News: I have a couple of 3rd year Physics students working for me at Aberystwyth University looking for impact flashes in Earthshine from now until April. If anybody would like to join in and help us combine light curves to improve signal to noise ratios in the impact flash data, please let me know (the dates that we will be observing Earthshine are listed at the bottom of this article. All you need is a light sensitive CCTV camera, like the Watec 902H and the ability to capture digital video at say 10-15 GB/hour (but not MPEGed like one gets on DVD recorders). This work would be ideal for occultation observers as one can kill two birds with one stone. TLP Reports: Two suspected TLPs were reported during October and I would welcome observations from observers who were out on the nights concerned. Figure 1. Image sequence taken by Fran Power of the Moon’s terminator region. This has been corrected to remove spurious colour effects from our atmosphere and/or optics. The TLP is visible in image (d) as an orange area on the inner illuminated rim of a crater. North is towards the top. Apianus D on 2011 Oct 03 at UT 21:00-21:20: Fran Power (Meath, Ireland) was out looking at the Moon through his 11” SCT, when he noticed on the inner western rim of a crater (the name of the crater was unknown to him at the time) an apparent changing colour: blue, white and red. He changed the eyepieces and moved the telescope around to different parts of the Moon, but found there was no other feature behaving similarly. As a test, he called out his wife to have a look without telling her that there was anything unusual to see, and she noticed the effect too. Five digital camera images were taken of most of the illuminated disk (subsections are shown in figure 1) – the first image was saturated. Most of the images had focus issues, but on the sharpest one, it is possible to see a distinct orange wedge shape of dimensions ~35 km long by ~11 km wide (at the north end). I have checked all the other whole images thoroughly and can see no similar effects on any other craters. There was evidence for atmospheric spectral dispersion in the images, but I have calibrated this out in Figure 1 above and the coloured rim remains. As there is one picture only showing this 20 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 21. effect, I have no way of knowing if this is the same crater as was seen visually, but if it was then the crater was Apianus D, a site not known for TLPs. Now on the downside, at the time of the TLP, the Moon was between 6°-4° above the horizon and in general this is an exceedingly low altitude to be observing the Moon at. However this low altitude does not explain really why the changing colour effect was seen at one particular feature and not anywhere else, and furthermore remained visible in a different eyepiece. Without the low altitude issue this report would have received a weight of 3-4 out of 5, as it had an element of independent confirmation (albeit with the same scope) and also may have been caught on CCD. However I am going to be cautious and assign a weight of 1 to reflect two facts: a) it was seen very close to the horizon – and this would normally imply a weight of 1 or less, b) despite calibrating out spectral dispersion, I cannot account fully for what was seen, and possibly imaged, not affecting other craters apparently. This will have a relatively minor effect on future TLP statistical analysis. I would urge Fran to repeat the experiment, with the same equipment to see if the effect shows up on other craters, especially with the Moon at low altitude. The only chance we have of increasing the weight of this TLP report would be if somebody else was observing that night around the same time e.g. perhaps some southern European observers? Gasseendi on 2011 Oct 07 at 21:45 UT. Peter Grego (St Dennis, UK, 30 cm Newtonian, 150x, seeing III, intermittent cloud) was producing some PDA sketches of the floor of Gassendi emerging from shadow. A faint point of light was seen inside the shadow filled interior, two thirds of the way from where the central peak was towards the SE rim (see figure 2). At the time, Peter mentioned some uncertainty in being sure about this spot, and after some interruption by cloud the spot was no longer seen later in the evening at 22:30UT. In view of Peter’s expressed uncertainty I am assigning a weight of 1 to this TLP too. Routine Reports: Back in 1974 Aug 03, Travnik and Vianna observed a huge dark ink-like splotch on the very bright sunlit floor of Atlas. The Cameron 1978 catalog assigns this a weight of 1 on the wishful assumption that perhaps the spot was darker than normal. Figure 3 is a copy of the original TLP report. On 2011 Oct 10, Jay Albert (Lake Worth, FL, USA) re-observed Atlas under similar illumination conditions to the above TLP report. Jay noted the following: “Atlas — the large, ‘black’ (more like a very dark grey) patch was immediately seen on the Figure 2. Sketch by Peter Grego showing a SE floor of the crater at the foot of the crater wall. suspected spot, on 2011 Oct 07, in the shadow filled The patch was obvious, even at 70x and was almost floor of Gassendi (as indicated by the two markers). circular at 311x. The patch was the darkest feature in Sketch covers 21:30-21:55 UT. North is at top. the 311x eyepiece field and was darker than the darkest part of Hercules’ floor. I’ve often seen this patch before and it is not an LTP. I observed from 01:43 to 01:57 UT.” I have now removed this TLP from the BAA/ALPO TLP database by assigning a weight of 0. On 1985 Dec 29 at UT 23:23-23:58 Martin Mobberley captured some video of the Moon and this contained a TLP recorded in the 2006 TLP extension Cameron catalog: M. Mobberley (Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, UK, seeing II-III) made a video scan of the Moon. P.W. Foley examined the tape and noted something that Mobberley had not seen visually. Two scans of Torricelli B had taken place, one at 23:23 and the other at 23:58UT. In the first a brilliant point appeared briefly, on the BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 21
  • 22. western rim, positioned at 3 o'clock. In the second video sequence this brilliant spot was present continuously and wandered along the rim. It was possible to monitor frequency of turbulence present, this apparent movement did not appear to conform, although judgement here was extremely difficult as the feature was at absolute point of resolution, a little better than 0.5 mile. Also considered was the implication of the equipment effect, this did not seem to fit either as other nearby craters in the same configuration, 30% shadow filled with sunlight on exterior of western walls. A point to watch for in future. ALPO/BAA weight=3. On 2011 Oct 15 at 03:43 UT Brendan Shaw made a repeat illumination CCD image (see Figure 3. The original Atlas TLP report by Travnik and Vianna from figure 4). This does not show any 1974. point like effect on the western rim, only the usual white land slide spot on the NE, therefore for now the weight for this TLP shall stand at 3. Unfortunately we do not appear to have the VHS tapes concerned in our archives, so cannot comment any further on this TLP report. On 1984 Feb 12 KP Marshall reported the following concerning Moltke (extract from the Cameron 2006 TLP extension catalog): Moltke observed by Marshall_KP on 1984-2-12. The UT given in the Cameron 2006 extension catalog are: 20:58, 23:25-02:20 and 01:40-04:00, however it is not clear what UT applies to which of the observers or the two features (Moltke and Plato) reported as having TLP on that night. On 1984 Feb 12-13 Marshall (South America, seeing=III-II) noticed that Moltke was very bright with a fuzzy violet hue - he had never seen it like this before. Cameron 2006 catalog extension TLP ID=240 and weight=2. ALPO/BAA weight=3. Norman Izitt took an image of the Moon (see figure 5), close to one of repeat illuminations, and found that Moltke was not very bright, nor did the image show up a violet haze. An image taken after Norman’s image, by Maurice Collins, also did not show anything unusual about Moltke. For now the Moltke TLP will remain at a weight of 3. 22 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 23. Figure 4. Subsection of a CCD image by Brendan Shaw from 2011.Oct 15 of the Torricelli (bottom left corner) and Torricelli B (near top edge and slightly left of centre) area. North is at the top. Figure 5. Section of a CCD image by Normal Izitt taken 2011 Oct 07 UT 07:13-07:33 with Moltke highlighted. Image is contrast stretched, colour normalized and colour saturation enhanced. North is at the top. Suggested features to observe in December: For those of you without access to the Internet (in the UK), below is a list of repeat conditions for when a feature will exhibit the same illumination and libration as was seen for a historical LTP observation from the past. By re-observing and submitting your observations, we will get a clear understanding of what the feature ought to have looked like at the time. Only this way can we really fully analyze past LTP reports. N.B. There will be the remains of a total lunar eclipse at Moon rise, on Dec 10 but it is unfavourable from the UK, only the last few minutes of final umbral contact will be seen. 2011-Dec-01 UT 16:38-20:38 Ill=44% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-08 UT 02:22-05:11 Ill=94% Aristarchus observed by Cook on 1985-05-02: Which part of the crater looks the most blurred to you and is there any sign of a shadow? 2011-Dec-08 UT 15:48-19:21 Ill=97% Aristarchus observed by Le Croy on 1975-11-17: Please see how Aristarchus and Herodotus appear together using a small scope. Can you detect any colour? 2011-Dec-09 UT 04:04-06:12 Ill=98% Aristarchus observed by Farrant on 1968-04-11: Any colour visible on the walls? 2011-Dec-09/10 UT 23:13-02:21 Ill=100% Aristarchus observed by Mobbeley on 1984-12-07: Please image, sketch and check for colour in the dark bands. 2011-Dec-10 UT 01:24-05:16 Ill=100% Thaetetus observed by Cherboneaux on 1902-10-16: Is there anything resembling a white cloud near to this crater? 2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:12 Ill=100% Riccioli observed by Chernov on 1971-08-06: Please image or sketch the dark spot in the crater. 2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:42 Ill=100% Atlas observed by Chernov on 1971-08-06: Please image or sketch the two large spots in the crater. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 23
  • 24. 2011-Dec-10 UT 16:41-17:47 Ill=100% Delambra, Manilius, Menelaus observed by Le Croy on 1975-11-18/19: Please compare these craters in brightness over time. 2011-Dec-13 UT 01:11-04:44 Ill=94% Aristarchus observed by Moore on 1982-09-13: How bright is the crater and what colour is it? 2011-Dec-13 UT 01:11-04:44 Ill=94% Grimaldi observed by Moore on 1982-09-13: How would you rate the brightness of Grimaldi A and is there any colour on the floor of Grimaldi? 2011-Dec-14 UT 06:16-08:17 Ill=87% Aristarchus and Kepler observed by Sekiguchi on 1970-03-26: Please take wide area monochrome images showing these two craters over time. 2011-Dec-15 UT 03:01-05:36 Ill=80% Aristarchus observed by Bartlett on 1964-07-29: Is there any colour visible in or around the crater? 2011-Dec-16 UT 04:30-08:19 Ill=70% Lichtenberg observed by Barcroft on 1940-10-22: Is there any colour visible? 2011-Dec-17 UT 03:01-05:36 Ill=60% Aristarchus observed by Bartlett on 1964-07-31: Is there any colour visible in or around the crater? 2011-Dec-18 UT 02:50-07:34 Ill=47% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-19 UT 04:28-07:34 Ill=36% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-20 UT 06:27-07:35 Ill=25% Please check Earthshine for Dec Leonis Minorids and Ursids meteor shower impact flashes. 2011-Dec-28 UT 16:42-18:10 Ill=18% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-29 UT 16:43-19:35 Ill=27% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-29 UT 18:23-21:26 Ill=26% Grimaldi observed by Lucas on 1970-04-11: Please monitor the brightness of features within the crater over time. 2011-Dec-30 UT 16:44-20:51 Ill=36% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-30 UT 16:00-16:52 Ill=35% Proclus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-12: How bright is the area inside (or outside) the NW of the crater? 2011-Dec-30 UT 18:23-21:26 Ill=35% Theophilus observed by Collier on 1970-04-12: Any sign of colour or flashes inside the crater? 2011-Dec-30 UT 19:27-22:17 Ill=36% Alphonsus and Arzachel observed by Brook on 2001-06-26: Which central peak is brighter and does this change over time? 2011-Dec-30 UT 22:27-22:36 Ill=37% Theophilus observed by Beaumont on 1993-12-19: Is there any sign of colour on the central peak? 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:28 Ill=44% Cyrillus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: Is there a small bright crater in western Cyrillus and how bright is it compared to other features in the area? 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:38 Ill=44% Aristarchus observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: How bright is Aristarchus in Earthshine and can you see any detail? 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-16:38 Ill=44% Mare Nubium observed by Loocks on 1970-04-13: Any colour seen? 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-17:28 Ill=44% Mare Nectaris observed by Gaudibert on 1880-01-18: Would you describe the appearance as foggy? 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-18:10 Ill=44% Hase observed by Dumas on 1970-04-13: Please sketch or image the east wall of the crater. 2011-Dec-31 UT 15:56-19:07 Ill=44% Challis, Gemma Frisius, Goldschmidt, Goodacre, Letronne observed by Jean on 1970-04-13: Any colour seen in these features? 2011-Dec-31 UT 16:44-22:01 Ill=46% Please check Earthshine for sporadic meteor impact flashes. 2011-Dec-31 UT 22:03-23:43 Ill=46% Menelaus observed by Whelan on 1970-04-13: Any colour visible on the southern wall? Repeat illumination (only) TLP predictions for the coming month can be found at http://users.aber.ac.uk/atc/tlp/tlp.htm For members who do not have access to the Internet, please drop me a line and I will post predictions to you. If you would like to join the TLP telephone alert team, please let me know your phone No. and how late you wish to be contacted. If in the unlikely event you see a TLP, please give me a call on my cell phone: +44 (0)798 505 5681 and I will alert other observers. Note when telephoning from outside the UK you must not use the (0). When phoning from within the UK please do not use the +44! Twitter TLP alerts can be accessed on http://twitter.com/lunarnaut. Dr Anthony Cook, Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, University of Wales Aberystwyth, Penglais, Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 3BZ, Wales, United Kingdom. Email: atc @ aber.ac.uk. 24 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 25. Occultation news December 2011 Tim Haymes Observing double stars during occultation Distinction between visual and binary systems is not made here, but most of the stars indicated in the predictions are close enough to exhibit step events or fades, indicating they are close pairs. If the lunar motion relative to the stars is about 30' arc in 1 hour, this is equivalent to about 0.5" arc per second. Occultation observations open up the possibility of discovering new doubles or refining their orbits, as well as studying the lunar limb. A pair separated by 0.5 arc second can be occulted individually giving rise to a ‘step-event’. This phenomenon has been monitored by the subsection in the past. I’m not aware of any section observer making a discovery. Can anyone correct me? Anomalous events have been reported, but few have been confirmed independently by a second observer. However, we now have video at our disposal which is indisputable evidence. Here is a good example ZC 2066 by Dave4gee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=uCOAK9P1LCg The Moon’s limb is capable of revealing doubles of separation 0.1" arc. Video at 25 fps allows a full analysis of an event such as this example by Dave Herald: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S83iUfkC3Y (See Ref- 2) ZC3524 double star occultation A R Pratt (Leeds). Occultation of ZC3524 on 2011 Nov 06, 2223UT. Double star information: 7.4v 7.9v, sep 0.36", PA 262.0, Radial Velocity of the limb 0.185"/sec: ‘The star was quite bright (Mag 6.9), but there was a lot of glare from the bright Moon, because of its gibbous phase (+86%) and the disappearance took place at small cusp angle (19N) and position angle. The star disappears at frame 58, which occurs at 22:23:56.433 UT. There's no evidence of any fade or stepped disappearance of the star". [ This could be caused by the glare, or an error in the PA of the double’. Equipment: Mintron at 25fps, 20cm f/20 Mak-Cass, VHS tape and AME/Cuno GPS time-and-date inserter. Frame Analysis: Converted to AVI and run through LiMovie. Occultation of ZC3524 with D in frame 58 PA* of the double and the Cusp Angle of the prediction *Position Angle given in the Washington Double Star Catalogue Observational Opportunities Selected double star events: ZC 313 on Dec 07 02h, Primary v8.3 v8.3 sep 0.10" in PA 90 40 Ari on Dec 07 21h, Primary v6.8 v6.8 sep 0.20" in PA 270 164036 on Dec 27 18:19, Primary v9.4 v9.4 sep 0.25" in PA 88 51 Tau on Jan 06 23h, Primary Aa,Ab v5.6 v8.1 0.11" in PA 357 Report observations to the coordinator. Both visual or video results gratefully received. BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 25
  • 26. Predictions for Birmingham Longitude 001 44'44.0"W, Latitude 52 27 41.0, Alt.50m; Telescope dia 15cm; Occultation predictions for Birmingham predicted with Occult 4 software by David Herald. Longitude 001° 44’44.0”W, Latitude 52° 27’ 41.0” N, Alt. 50m; Telescope dia. 15cm. A double or multiple star is indicated as **. All events occur at the dark limb. Some events are close to Full Moon, but can be observed under good conditions with high contrast optics. Detailed information about the double and multiple stars has been removed from this list. This information is available from the co-coordinator. Some selected events are indicated above. Ref-1 Journal of Double Star Observations http://www.jdso.org/ Ref-2 SAO 97883 - A New Double Star (D. Herald, R. Sandy) [Detected by Video during a Graze] http://www.jdso.org/volume5/number4/Herald.pdf Occultations Co-ordinator: Tim Haymes, Hill Rise, Knowl Hill Common, Reading, RG10 9YD. occultation@baalunarsection.org.uk Next month there will be a listing of graze occultations for the UK, 2012 January 1 to May 31, along with a map and information on how to select a graze observing site and how to go about observing grazes. 26 BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011
  • 27. Lunar data for December 2011 (from a program by Gareth Williams) BAA Lunar Section Contacts To receive B&W printed copies of the Lunar Section Circular, please send a supply of stamped addressed Director envelopes to the Lunar Section Director. Envelopes at Bill Leatherbarrow least 11 x 22 cm will ensure no damage in transit. director@baalunarsection.org.uk Members who have Internet access may receive their Circulars (colour version) in PDF format by email Assistant Directors (please contact the Director) or by downloading them Tony Cook (with responsibility for TLP work) directly from the BAA Lunar Section website at tlp@baalunarsection.org.uk http://www.baalunarsection.org.uk/circulars.htm. Peter Grego (Circulars Editor) BAA Lunar Section Director: Bill Leatherbarrow, editor@baalunarsection.org.uk 9 Stumperlowe Avenue, Sheffield, S10 3QN, UK. Email: director@baalunarsection.org.uk Committee Members Tim Haymes (Occultations) Observations and items related to a specific area of occultation@baalunarsection.org.uk lunar study should be sent to the appropriate member Robert Garfinkle (Historical Consultant) of the BAA Lunar Section Committee, but send any history@baalunarsection.org.uk material of a more general nature to the Editor. Bruce Kingsley (Imaging Consultant) photography@baalunarsection.org.uk Deadline for items for the January 2012 Nigel Longshaw Lunar Section Circular: Brendan Shaw (Archivist) 15 December 2011. archives@baalunarsection.org.uk Computing Consultant (position vacant) Circulars Editor: Peter Grego, 7 Parc-An-Bre Drive, compute@baalunarsection.org.uk St Dennis, St Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8AS, UK. Email: editor@baalunarsection.org.uk BAA Lunar Section Circular Vol. 48 No. 12 December 2011 27