Observing Report -- 2008 Dec 06 at 01:10 UT

[Jim Mosher]

Date/time: 2008 Dec 06 at 01:10 UTC

It is clear here in Newport Beach, CA (for a change) and the sky is
just starting to grow dark (Sun -6.0 deg below horizontal, Moon +51.5
deg above horizontal), and the seeing is no more than average.

With my mirror reversed Alt-Az mounted 4-inch Maksutov at its normal
60X power (giving slightly more than the entire Moon in a single field
-- a configuration I find useful for sunrise and moonrise viewing).

I find it quite easy to look down from Moretus and find the alignment
of Malapert K and C, which are labeled as control points #34 and #18
(respectively) on the simulation for 04:00 UT at:

http://ltvt.wikispaces.com/LCROSS+Dec+2008+Campaign

These look like a pair of bubbles rising above Malapert E, which is a
bit harder to see, but not really difficult. A large dark elliptical
gulf separates it from the bright point of Malapert Alpha (to its
right in my mirror-reversed view, but not labeled on the simulation).
The bright peninsula descending south out of Short (the large crater
poleward of Moretus) is also strikingly similar to its appearance in
the simulation, and serves to confirm the identifications.

Since Malapert K, C, and E should all be simultaneously visible in a
single arc-minute square Guidedog field, and since these landmarks are
so easy to pick up with such modest instrumentation, I can't imagine
that the IRTF experimenters (or others) should have any trouble
finding them (using the simulation as a guide) unless they have really
terrible seeing.

I am not set up for high resolution photography myself, but hopefully
others will capture the scene with tonight's lighting and libration
and add their images to the Files section.

-- Jim

[Jim Mosher]

Update: 2008 Dec 06 02:20 UTC

For some odd reason, having perhaps to do with the darker sky (the Sun
is now 20 degrees below the horizontal and the Moon 53 degrees above)
and the changing Alt-Az orientation, I can no longer see Malapert K
and C as clear landmarks at 60X. The region where they are situated
is now looks like a complicated jumble to my eye and brain. But
Malapert E is still quite distinct. The long bright ridge extending
out from it into the dark gulf to the left in the simulation (and to
the right in my eyepiece) makes it look rather like the dot of a
sideways exclamation point.

With this kind of power and seeing, I can’t see Faustini at all, but
at least I know pretty exactly where it is. I should think the IRTF
scientists should be able to find it with ease when they start their
run in 2 hours.

-- Jim

[Jim Mosher]

Update: 2008 Dec 06 04:10 UTC


The Moon has rotated around now, in my Alt-Az view, to where a line
from Moretus to the limb points at a roughly 45 degree angle -- just
as LTVT predicts. Malapert K and C are a little easier to spot again
in this configuration, at least when the seeing is clearer. Malapert E
continues to be easy to locate, although I can't honestly say I can
recognize the thin streaks of light on its limbward side which I know
from other's photos represent the sunlit rim of Faustini. The Sun is
supposed to be a little higher tonight than in the Bart Declercq
reference image, so I guess my scope just isn't quite up to the task
even though in theory Faustini is a bigger feature than Malapert E.
With my very imperfect image I mostly get the impression that the limb
is a little depressed beyond Malapert E.

I would assume Dr. Wooden's group is beginning their run now. I
wonder if she is in Hawaii or operating the IRTF remotely from
California? I hope she has good luck finding the filters she needs
for proper exposures.

Since it doesn't look like either the seeing here or my telescope's
alignment is going to get any better tonight, I'm packing it in (we
are also experiencing a mild earthquake as I post this...).

-- Jim

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