The image at
left is a photograph
of the moon taken through an 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope by
Cherie' Wilkinson for Astronomy Class on Sept. 23, 2004 when the moon
was about 3/4 full. Notice how the craters are much more
pronounced near the terminator - the portion on the left-hand side of
the illuminated portion of the moon. The shadows of the lunar
features are much more prominent near the terminator. The sun
illuminates the moon from the right.
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The moon
image at the right was a
closeup image made by Emma Bagget-Clark on Sept. 23, 2004. Notice
the relatively flat areas called Maria. The maria were formed in
the
middle of the moon's history by a catastrophic event which either
melted a large portion of the moon or released molten material from
inside the moon. These areas are also called "seas" although they
never had any water. The maria are relatively smooth because the
moon has endured less bombardment by meteorites and asteroids after the
maria were formed. In the upper left, a couple of craters in the
Mare Imbrium can be seen. |
The moon
image on the left is taken earlier in the week (Sept. 20, by Roxy
Todd). Notice the difference between the percentage of
illuminated area of the moon between this image and the image at the
top of the page as a result of 3 days between the photos.
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