Faustini on 2009-01-03
Rainer
I have been not been active in this group posting messages, only
reading them. I know I am late with this image I took from Faustini on
January 3rd 2009, but anyhow I just wanted to show it. If I am not
mistaken Faustini is nicely visible down there.
http://astroforo.net/astro/Avistack/Faustini-0001_wvs.jpg
The image was taken with a Lumenera Infinity 2-2M in binning mode 2x2,
but I do not remember with which scope. It could have been a TOA130 or
a Mewlon 250S, but I guess more the Mewlon 250S is the culprit.
Processed solely in AviStack and sharpened a bit in Photoshop CS2.
Next time I will start focusing my imaging efforts on the North Pole
as it looks like, if I understood correctly, that the North Pole will
be the target for the impact in August/September. That is a good date
because I mainly can take my vacations in one of those months.
Sorry for not participating as maybe the one or other expects but as
my Observatory is up north 400km from where I live I do get there only
every 3-4 weeks.
regards Rainer
cano...@yahoo.com
the top of Leibnitz Beta. See the Finder page. - Clear Skies, Kurt
Jim Mosher
That's quite a nice photo. Can you provide any more exact information
as to when it was taken (what hour) and from where on Earth (city or
approximate lon/lat)?
As Kurt says, it gives a nice view of Faustini, but only a small part
of it. The attachment labels some of the more prominent landmarks.
The large crater Amundsen is the most obvious one close to the limb.
On its limbward side one can see a part of the sunlit interior of
Idel'son L, and on the Earthward side the long, highly foreshortened
shape of Nobile.
Extending down to the right from the right-hand arrow pointing to
Idel'son L there is a bright band of light. That is part of the inner
walls of Amundsen. To the right of that, just above the right-hand
arrow pointing to Nobile is the left-hand part of a dark elliptical
shadow. That little partial ellipse of black just above the arrowhead
is the interior of Faustini. Most of it is cut off by the edge of the
frame. If it were not for the edge of the frame, Faustini would
extend to the right to about the "N" in "Nobile".
The elevated landmass below Nobile is the one Kurt is referring to as
"Leibnitz Beta". It also extends beyond the edge of the frame.
-- Jim
Rainer
Thanks for the comments. I did use VMA for orientation to where to
find Faustini but I guess I went wrong :-)
Here http://astroforo.net/astro/Avistack/Faustini-0002_wvs.jpg is
another image from the same night and following the imaging data. I
forgot that the software does write a logfile with all relevant data.
AVI acquired with Lucam Recorder.
******************************************************************************************************************
Start time of recording.....2009-01-03, 20:13:20 = UTC -6 hours
Recording duration..........153.47 s
Captured frames.............1000
Dropped frames..............3
Capture frame speed.........6.5 fps
Telescope...................Mewlon 250S @ 6000mm ~ AP: 250 mm ~ FL:
3000 mm ~ Extender: 2.00
Camera......................Lumenera Infinity 2-2M monochrome, Serial
170774
RoISize = 1616x1216 2x2
MetaSpeed = Variable
FrameRate = 21.4 fps
PixelDepth = 12 Bit
Exposure = 6.86 ms
Gain = 1.00
Gamma = 1.00
Contrast = 1.00
Brightness = 0.00
Flipping = RotateNoneFlipNone
******************************************************************************************************************
It was taken in San Luis Potosi N 22°08' and W 101°01'
ONe thing what confuses me is that in many iomages here the south is
up :-) Why so ?
Arnold Ashcraft
You got it in this image.
Clif
Jim Mosher
> Here http://astroforo.net/astro/Avistack/Faustini-0002_wvs.jpg
> is another image from the same night and following the imaging data.
Nice work, Rainer! Thanks for the detailed image data and the
observing location.
Do you have the time for the eariler image?
As Clif says, this image shows the remainder of Faustini. In the
attachment I have drawn arrows to the rim points that define the
limits of Faustini's shadowed bowl, and also those of Shackleton and
Shoemaker. In each case, a bit of sunlit inner wall can be seen at
the right-hand end. For Shoemaker, the Earthward rim cannot be seen
at this sun angle, causing the to crater merge into a larger shadowed
gulf. The crater bowl of Shoemaker is actually a highly flattened
ellipse just like the others.
In the attachment, I have also pointed out Malapert E, a distinctive
feature on the flanks of Leibnitz Beta. With this lighting it is
usually easy to spot, both in photos and visually. The streak of
light reaching out from it towards the Shoemaker label helps to
confirm you have the right crater. Faustini can then be found between
Malapert E and the limb, although a very strong libration in longitude
has here placed it a bit more to the right than usual. The presence
of Shackleton, nearby, with its distinctive cone-shaped outer walls is
another confirmation.
> One thing what confuses me is that in many images here the south is up :-)
> Why so ?
That's partially my fault, I think. Images have been posted in a
variety of orientations, but in the ones I've labeled (such as the
present attachment), I've usually rotated them so the limb is at the
top. My mind is not very flexible, and I find it hard to recognize
features when mountains go down and valleys stick up. Many other
people are apparently perfectly comfortable with either orientation.
I'm not.
And yes, despite the strong focus on Faustini here so far, if LCROSS
launches on the current schedule, it looks like the impact will most
likely be in a crater near the north pole. See Kurt's "Finders" page
for a list of possible locations:
http://groups.google.com/group/lcross_observation/web/finders
-- Jim
Rainer
Thanks :-) The first image I posted is from the same day maybe 5
minutes earlier.
Will start to practice on the North Pole.
regards Rainer
cano...@yahoo.com
<snip> Will start to practice on the North Pole.
> regards Rainer
Rainer,
The next favorable libration observing window is at the south pole
beginning around March 2-3. The next northern pole favorable
libration cycle begins around March 7 through March 13. Check your
planetarium program around those dates for your specific observing
point.
Librations-in-latitude ephemeris page
http://groups.google.com/group/lcross_observation/web/librations-in-latitude-list
I recommend learning to use Jim's LTVT software. It takes about 30
minutes to learn the image registration procedure that registers your
jpg images to the disk of the Moon. It will automatically label the
craters for you. For craters on the limb, tt saves hours as compared
to staring at lunar atlases.
- Kurt