Since there were some clear holes in the overcast that had been around for a week, I thought I might get a glance of the moon and set up my 4.5-inch newt.

Just at sunset, I checked the view to see how things looked; I could clearly make the moon out through a light haze.

Uh oh. It looked awfully good...

The first thing that struck me was a "double bird" on the eastern edge of Mare Nectaris; the low light was really bringing out the ridges behind Bohnenberger (Rukl 58). They looked exactly like the seagulls sickening seascape artists stick on their paintings.

Also obvious were Rima and Rupes Cauchy (Rukl 36), the reversed paranthesis twins. This was clearly a night for symmetry, and very good views.

It was awful steady, so the fire drill began: I didn't want to pass up a chance to try out my recent 5mm Tak replacement in the FS128.

My "permanent pier" is currently the stump of a tree I took out with a home-made Losmandy adapter plate screwed into the top. Works pretty good!

After about five minutes of frantic hustling, I had it going and popped in the eyepiece... oh my. Now this is a remarkable night, with thin clouds everywhere and a storm system coming in. Who would have thought?

Something caught my eye in a line from Crisium more or less through Macrobius toward Mare Serenitatis -- a thick, dark series of lines running from Sinus Amoris to Lacus Somniorum. Now I know there's something there... holy cow! It's Rimae Romer (Rukl 25) segued into Rima G. Bond (Rukl 15). I've looked at them probably 20 or more times, but never seen them anywhere near this dark and thick! What a surprising combination of seeing and light angle! The fragments of R. Romer seem to run through the hills in fits and starts, while Rima Bond is a continuous and slightly easier target that finishes out the run. They are almost certainly the same rille system, but since there are fragments and breaks in the Romer complex, they ended up with two names.

Since I had little time (the moon was already sinking) I decided to trace out the terminator on Rukl and see if there were any other moderately difficult highlights that might show well tonight.

First up was Rima Gartner in the crater of the same name (Rukl 6). It turned out to be easy, and showed very distinctly. This was a first for me; I don't think I'd ever looked at it before. It's not real obvious, and it might be overlooked if one doesn't know it's there.

Next I hit the fantastic Rimae Gutenberg (Rukl 47), which were very odd tonight. Not at all difficult, it appears as three more or less parallel lines, two of which are of similar length while the third both starts more westerly and extends much further. The two "twin" parts of it were dark (as rimae normally appear) but the southern branch was actually bright, though it sits just miles from the other fragments!

Now this is getting a little weird.

Nearby, I spotted something that looked like a really fat rille dangling out of the crater Capella (Rukl 37), so I checked the map to see if there was one there. Nope, I was seeing the southeast end of Vallis Capella, which cuts through the crater (obvious once I knew to look).

This was a new feature for me, and it's not hard to see why when you use Rukl as a reference; the type for the name is set "in the valley" and very hard to see! In fact, the valley itself is easier to see than its name in on the chart.

I took a while trying to spot the fine rille in Fracastorius (Rukl 58), but no luck. The air was starting to fail and the moon was sinking below good elevations... still, the light on Fracastorius was sublime. It was low, with a darkish tint in the floor and a startling bright rim -- it was a miniature Sinus Iridum in that subtle light when it is hanging off the terminator.

Rima Janssen was obvious as usual -- I should have known it would be clear tonight, as it is always clear when this fat feature is showing. I don't know why, but I seem to see it twice every month.

Oh well, that was it for tonight... save for one thing. Since I had the 4.5-inch newt out, I had checked each of these features in it after I looked them over with the Tak FS128. Once I knew exactly what to look for, I found them all easily in the 4.5-inch.

So, folks, this game isn't just for dopy guys with boutique refractors. I have pushed the 4.5-inch to the limit of Rukl many, many nights in its career, without the help of a five inch finder.