Due to the numerous clouds and inclement weather of the past months, I was becoming worried that my telescopes would no longer function as designed. It is a well known fact that glass, when no light passes through it (in the case of refractors) or reflects off of it (in the case of a reflector) becomes unstable and will, over time, deteriorate into a pile of mush. Since it was clear last night I decided to use the little 4" Vixen Fluorite refractor and check out the moon. Seeing was fair but the transparency was poor due to some high clouds. I was using a Vixen 6mm LV eyepiece with an Intes 2" diagonal (153x). What I found most interesting was the area around Bullialdus (Rukl 53) and the area a little further to the west. Specifically, the Rimae Hippalus area and the crater Hippalus (Rukl 52). I thought that Hippalus looked like an orange wedge with the lines crossing through it. It also reminded me of a cat's scratching post with the three lines running through it. Another feature I found interesting was the crater just to the SW of Campanus. There is the Rimae running along quite nicely and then BOOM, here is a crater in the middle of it. I'm not sure but I suspect that the crater is a newer feature since it seems to cover the Rimae. I also found the shading inside of Hippalus to be most interesting. The shadows seemed to consist of numerous straight lines.

Although I tend to be annoyed by the moon's brightness and do not consider myself a lunar observer, it was fun to give the little telescope a workout and keep the glass intact.