Klaproth Sunset Lunar Ray

I did quite a bit of observing last night, ending the session with the discovery of a new sunset lunar light ray.

Dave Mitsky


Observer: Dave Mitsky
Date: 2004/10/8
Time: 07:20 UT
Location: ASH Naylor Observatory, Lewisberry, Pennsylvania
(76d53'4" west, 40d8'54" north)
Elevation: 190 meters
Seeing: very good
Transparency: good
Dome Temperature: 13 degrees Celsius at the end of the session
Instrument: 17" f/15 classical Cassegrain equatorial mount
Oculars: 17mm Pro-Optic Ploessl (381x), 25mm University Optics MK-70 (259x), 32mm U.O. Koenig-II (202x), 40mm U.O. MK-70 (162x)


At approximately 7:20 UT (3:20 a.m. EDT) on Friday morning I noticed a very prominent sunset lunar light ray in the flooded wall plain Klaproth. This 119 kilometer diameter crater was named after the German chemist and mineralogist Martin Klaproth. It features high crater walls reaching to 4300 meters and a flat floor. Klaproth is located at 69.7 degrees south, 26.0 degrees west, and is south of the prominent crater Clavius. Adjacent to it to the south is the crater Casatus.

The ray was easily seen while scanning the terminator at 162x. It was rather thin and extended across the crater diagonally to the northeast. When I stopped observing the ray at 08:00 UT it had not changed appreciably.

Fellow ASH member Ted Nichols II imaged the crater with his digital camera.

Cool, Dave. Any way to post the digital image Ted took?

Say, Ted Nichols II was the speaker at the BFSP that inspired me to observe Pluto and the outer planets' moons for the first time ever (see http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=251015&poll_id=&news_id=&page=). Thank him for me, would you?

Doug