Sunset ray seen in crater Endymion

by Jane Houston Jones

This report is a bit late. We have been up to eyepieces showing Mars, Mars and Mars to the public (and sketching Mars in private) for so much of July and August, I just haven't had time to scan this sketch and write up my writeup. I am feeling a little guilty for ignoring the lovely luna for what seems like the whole summer.

Anyway, on August 14th, 2003 Mojo was touring the lunar terminator with our f/9 AP180EDT, and he hollered out that there was a triple sunset ray visible. This was at 10:45 p.m.or 6:45 UT 8/15/03. We were at Glacier Point, Yosemite National Park, Latitude 37 43.741 N, Longitude 119 34.330 W, elevation 7,200 feet. We all took a look and sure enough, three bright wedges of light were sharply piercing the pool of dark shadow filled basin of a large crater. Try as I might, I couldn't figure which crater it was, so I sketched the entire terminator and other nearby craters so I could do the research later. I spent an hour with Mr. Rukl's Atlas back at the campsite the next day. The triple sunset ray was in the crater Endymion, identified on Rukl 7. I must say the Rukl paragraph on this crater is wonderful.

Endymion was a young shepherd who, according to Greek legend, went to sleep on Mount Latmos; his beauty so aroused the cold heart of Selene, Goddess of the Moon, that she came down to earth and kissed Endymion, who slept on forever.

My sketches of the crater and terminator are here. http://www.whiteoaks.com/sketches/endymion.html