January 31, 2020
February 2020 The Lunar Observer
The February 2020 issue of The Lunar Observer, newsletter of the ALPO Lunar Topographical Studies & Selected Areas Program, and the Lunar Geological Change program is available by clicking here. Back issues are also available at http://moon.scopesandscapes.com. In the February 2020 issue of The Lunar Observer, before telling what is in this issue, look at who is in this issue. Contributions were received from 22 observers in 7 countries! I am thrilled that we are reaching that many lunar observers. In this issue you will find articles about the craters Galle and Clausius by Robert Hayes Jr., the crater Nöggerath by Alberto Anunziato, lunar domes in the Maraldi D region by Raffaello Lena, Maximilian Teodorescu and Jim Phillips, a discussion of whether Bliss, (formally Plato A) is a banded crater by Alberto Anunziato and Francisco A. Cardinalli, an in depth look at a light cone in the crater Hesiodus and discussions of lunar landscapes by Rik Hill, Howard Eskildsen and David Teske. The pages are graced by many stunning lunar drawings and images, all taken by amateur astronomers. Tony Cook provide another thorough look at lunar geologic change. Enjoy and have fun observing our nearest neighbor in space.
If the link above doesn’t work for you, try typing it directly into your browser. If that doesn’t work, reply (NOT reply all) to this email and I’ll send you a copy by mail.
David Teske
Acting Coordinator, Lunar Topographic Studies Program
Assn of Lunar & Planetary Observers
January 07, 2020
Lunar Domes near Maraldi D:
a preliminary report
Eight lunar domes, located near the crater Maraldi D in the northern region of the Cauchy shield, have been imaged and studied. The morphometric characteristics of these domes have been examined by making use of a combined photoclinometry and shape from shading approach and Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) WAC image, including LOLA DEM data set. The domes are named C35-C42.Thus during our lunar domes survey (thirteen years, since 2006) we have classified a total of fifty-six domes in the wide Cauchy shield. click here for the preliminary report
A full spectral analysis based on Chandrayaan-1 Moon Mineralogy Mapper is in progress. The Lunar Domes section encourages more high-resolution imagery of this wide lunar region so that we can have more data to identify further lunar domes not characterized in the morphometric and spectral properties yet.
Raffaello Lena
Coordinator, Lunar Domes Program
Assn of Lunar and Planetary Observers
September 26, 2019
Imaging request for suspected Dome analysis
The Lunar Domes section is requesting high resolution images of a suspect dome for further analysis. Please click the link provided to read the note of the suspect dome near Brayley D, including a description of the elongated vent. We encourage more high-resolution imagery of this area so we can have more data to identify the shape of this dome which is not characterized in the morphometric and spectral properties yet. Please click the link here to access the note.
Raffaello Lena
Acting Coordinator, Lunar Domes Program
Assn of Lunar and Planetary Observers
September 2, 2019
2019-09 TLO available
The September 2019 issue of The Lunar Observer, newsletter of the ALPO Lunar Topographical Studies & Selected Areas Program, and the Lunar Geological Change program is available by clicking here: 2019-09 TLO. Back issues are also available at http://moon.scopesandscapes.com. This issue includes the Focus On article on the selected areas craters Alphonsus and Aristarchus, two in-depth studies of lunar domes, several contributed articles, images from several observers and a report from the Lunar Geologic Change Detection Program.
If the link above doesn’t work for you, try typing it directly into your browser. If that doesn’t work reply (NOT reply all) to this email and I’ll send you a copy by email.
David Teske
Acting Coordinator, Lunar Topographic Studies Program
Assn of Lunar & Planetary Observers
August 2, 2019
2019-08 TLO available
The August 2019 issue of The Lunar Observer, newsletter of the ALPO Lunar Topographical Studies & Selected Areas Program, and the Lunar Geological Change program is available at http://moon.scopesandscapes.com/tlo. Back issues and additional program information are also available at http://moon.scopesandscapes.com. This issue includes several contributed articles and an announcement of a change of coordinators for the ALPO Lunar Topographical Studies & Selected Areas Program.
After almost 11 years in this position, I have resigned as coordinator. David Teske has agreed to take over the Coordinator position and editorship of the TLO. He was officially appointed by the ALPO Board at the July meeting and, with this issue of the TLO, he has fully assumed his duties. I will continue as assistant coordinator, primarily entering observations into the ALPO gallery. All observations should now be submitted to david.teske@alpo-astronomy.org, as well as submitting copies to assistant coordinators, wayne.bailey@alpo-astronomy.org and jerry.hubbell@alpo-astronomy.org. As has been described in recent issues of the TLO, the easiest way to do this is to send the email to lunar@alpo-astronomy.org which will automatically forward it to all relevant recipients. I’ve enjoyed my 10+ years as coordinator and appreciate all the support I’ve received. I’m certain that David will do an excellent job and bring some new ideas to the program.
If the link above doesn’t work for you, try typing it directly into your browser. If that doesn’t work reply (NOT reply all) to this email and I’ll send you a copy by email.
Wayne Bailey
Assistant Coordinator
Lunar Topographical Studies and Selected Areas Program
More GRAIL info
More information about the upcoming GRAIL impacts is also available at
http://www.spaceflight101.com/grail-mission-updates.html
The impacts will occur at 22:29 UT, seperated by 20 seconds. The spacecraft are small, so nothing is expected to be visible, although the impact occurs in the dark. Because it’s waxing crescent, it will be daylight or twilight in most locations where the moon is above the horizon. LRO will image the site both before and after impact.
Thanks again to Mike Mattei for pointing out this web-site.
NASA live commentary during GRAIL impact
Mike Mattei brought this announcement of live commentary during the impact of the GRAIL spacecraft to my attention. The site for the impacts is near the northern crater Goldschmidt, which will be in darkness at the time.
NASA to Provide Dec. 17 Commentary as Twin Probes End Lunar Mission
12/14/2012 12:00 AM EST
NASA will provide live commentary of the scheduled lunar surface impacts of its twin Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory (GRAIL) spacecraft beginning at 2 p.m. PST (5 p.m. EST) Monday, Dec. 17.
