The skys have been pretty clear for the last week, coinciding with a near full moon. Although I often don't set up a scope when the moon is near full, I have been feeling photon deprived after the rain and clouds of mid-January. Last Thursday [January 28, 1999] I set up the 7 inch Starmaster dob in the driveway and had stunning views of the moon about 2 or 3 days before full. Seeing was pretty steady and I spent most of the time viewing at approximately 240x. The region around Aristarchus was one of the prettiest views I had ever seen through a telescope. Two rugged craters (Aristarchus and Herodotus), a nearby mountain (Mons Herodotus), and Vallis Schroteri meandering like a river between the craters and the mountain made a beautiful group near the terminator. There was so much detail that I pulled out my Rukl atlas to identify some of what I was seeing. With the atlas in hand, I was soon crater-hopping back and forth, and noticing much more than I usually would in a brief glance at the moon. Rima Marius was plainly visible, and it was fun tracing it as it snaked back and forth across the plains near the Aristarchus group. This is the night that convinced me that I should spend more time exploring the moon with a good atlas.
Last night I checked in again on the moon, this time with a 70 mm Ranger operating up to about 120x. The moon was now 2 or 3 days past full, and again showed a stunning view. This time the showpiece objects were four enormous craters positioned in a beautiful line right along the terminator (Langrenus, Vendelinus, Petavius, and Furnerius, spelling??). A sparkling white ring of illuminuated peaks was visible between Langrenus and Vendelinus, set back in the otherwise dark zone past the terminator. The sun shown between the peaks of the wall of Vendelius, casting a huge black shadow outline that looked like a dark mountain range projected halfway across the floor of the crater. The mountain in the middle of Petavius looked like the central part of a juicer machine, lit up on one side and also casting a pretty shadow that showed nice contrast with all the detail in the rest of the crater and walls. The skies were not as steady as last Thursday, but the line of craters, the play of light and shadow through the walls and mountains of the craters, and the sparkling diamond ring visible on the dark side of the terminator made a very memorable line-up.
Some of my best telescope views have been on nights that I nearly skipped. These two sessions were good examples and I'll now be checking the moon more often with some patience and a Rukl.