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Old 21-02-2013, 07:31 PM
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mental4astro (Alexander)
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: sydney, australia
Posts: 4,979
Eratosthenes, Stadius & western spur of Montes Apenninus

Here’s my first lunar sketch since August last year.

This particular sketch has been most rewarding. Not only was a seemingly “featureless” lunarscape most detailed, but the subsequent research I did on this area opened my eyes to lunar geography that I was totally ignorant of. A most enlightening last couple of days it’s been.

One feature I hadn’t sketched before was a submerged crater. Stadius is a very ancient crater that has been flooded by lava, either that poured over from the surrounding Mare, or had been filled from below. Either way, its floor is level with the surrounding plain and the central peak covered.

Erastosthenes makes for a striking ‘full stop’ to the western spur of the Apenninus mountain range. The spur and crater are surrounded by flooded Mare which at first appear to be featureless. Yet these plains a pot marked with tiny craters and the flood plains are laced with subtle colour variation of light and dark, giving an insight to the mix of flows and compositions.

A surprising feature for me though was a wavy chain of craters that lies between these two craters and a little further west. When I started to research this chain, I came to find that it is actually a line of secondary impacts created from the ejecta from the impact formation of the crater Copernicus! This line of craters was the last feature that I sketched last, but conditions had deteriorated that prevented detailed examination.

This was a very satisfying sketch. From not initially seeing much detail or features turned into a great sketching exercise and a fascinating research project.

I hope you enjoy this sketch too.

Alex.

Object: Craters Erastosthenes, Stadius and western spur of Montes Apenninus
Scope: C8, 8” SCT
Gear: 5mm Hyperion, 400X
Date: 18th February 2013
Location: Sydney, Oz
Media: Soft pastel, charcoal and white ink on A5 size black paper.
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