Lovely John, I like Plato - so easy to find for a beginner like me! I'm going to keep observing until I can pick out at least one craterlet on its floor!
When was this taken please - tonight (23rd) or yesterday (22nd)?
Nice image shot of Plato there, can see 5 of the big 6 craterlets and it shows up the fan shaped lighter floor area well.
Erick, I find the craterlets easiest to see when Plato is near the terminator because the shadows give relief, and also at Full Moon when they show up as white dots on the crater floor. Here's an image I took at Full Moon that shows at least six white specks that match up with craterlet positions.
Thanks Stephen. I might be pushing it, but I want to try to see some craterlets with my little 8"! I've been reading up and have gathered that close to the terminator is best (as would be expected). I've collected various photos - several from IIS and like to understand how close to terminator they were taken. I will try full moon in case the white specks are visible under good conditions. However I'm detracting from the enjoyment of John's image. Back to compliments from everyone!
Eric, the craterlets of Plato were a white whale of mine too. I managed to see them a few months ago when the moon was past full and waning again. It was very late, and the atmosphere had steadied a lot which made viewing them much easier. I bagged 3 and a bit with my Dob.
The craterlets can be quite easy to see with:
a) enough aperture (at least 8")
b) good lighting
c) above average seeing (it's almost impossible in bad seeing)
d) good collimation
The rille in the alpine valley is a very difficult target, both visually and photographically and requires the above, too.
That's a sweet shot John, about 20-25 craterlets visible.
Inspired by this thread and the good seeing tonight over Melbourne I went out and tried a new TMB 4mm Supermono (gives 231x in my 5" refractor) and I could see A, B, C and D as faint white spots and was able to distinctly split C and D which is a first for me visually.
