3towers Observatory Lunar 100/Lunar Features

The Lunar 100 was created by Charles A. Wood who states: "The Lunar 100 list is an attempt to provide Moon lovers with something akin to what deep-sky observers enjoy with the Messier catalog: a selection of telescopic sights to ignite interest and enhance understanding. [It is]... a selection of the Moons 100 most interesting regions, craters, basins, mountains, rilles, and domes."

Woods challenges "...observers to find and observe them all and, more important, to consider what each feature tells us about lunar and Earth history."

To find out more about the Lunar 100 see the Sky & Telescope web site at: http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/article_1199_1.asp.

The Lunar 100 features are arranged from the easiest to view to the most difficult. The Moon itself is L1. L2 is Earthshine, and L3 represents the dichotomy between the Lunar highlands and the Lunar Maria. While the Lunar 100 are concentrated all on the nearside of the Moon, they can not be seen in a single night or a single month. Some of them require special lighting conditions or phases of the Moon, and others, in addition, require very favorable librations of the Moon to bring them into view. The Lunar 100 is an observing list. However, the equipment at the 3towers Observatory was used to image the Lunar 100, mainly using the web cam techniques detailed.

Lunar Features|Lunar 100|Moon Halos|Lunar Webcam Imaging|Lunar Eclipses

Lunar Feature	Lunar Age in days	Thumbnail Image	Comments
21. Fracastorius	5.4 days
21. Fracastorius	5.7 days
22. Aristarchus Plateau	12 days
22. Aristarchus Plateau	12.3 days
22. Aristarchus Plateau	12.33 days
22. Aristarchus Plateau	16 days
23. Pico	12.33 days
23. Pico	18 days
23. Pico	20.2 days
23. Pico	21.7 days
24. Hyginus Rille	7.6 days
24. Hyginus Rille	20.3 days
24. Hyginus Rille	20.4 days
25. Messier A & B	4.5 days
25. Messier A & Messier B	6.05 days
25. Messier A & Messier B	7.0 days
25. Messier A & Messier B	7.6 days
25. Messier A & Messier B	16 days
26. Mare Frigoris	10 days
26. Mare Frigoris	11.7 days
26. Mare Frigoris	22 days
27. Archimedes	9 days		From left to right are the craters Timocharis, Archimedes, Autolycus, and Aristillus.
27. Archimedes	10 days
27. Archimedes	18 days		The major craters are left to right: Archimedes, Autolycus, and Aristillus.
27. Archimedes	21.7 days
28. Hipparchus	7.6 days
28. Hipparchus	8 days		The largest craters from top to bottom, right to left are Hipparchus, Albategnius, Ptolemaeus, and Alphonsus.
29. Aridaeus_Rille	6.05 days
29. Aridaeus Rille	6.7 days
29. Aridaeus Rille & Altai Scarp	7 days		This montage extends from the lava filled crater Julius Caesar (top left) and nearby Ariadaeus Rille down to the Altai Scarp (bottom center). A portion of Mare Tranquillitatis and Mare Nectaris are also seen.
29. Aridaeus Rille	7.6 days		The large flat crater filled with lava is Julius Caesar. Below it runs the Ariadaeus Rille and below that is the Cayley Plains. The Hyginus Rille runs to the West of the Ariadaeus Rille. Mare Vaporum lies along the left hand side and Mare Tranquillitatis along the right hand side.
30. Schiller-Zucchius Basin	11.6 days		The Zucchius Basin lies in the very center of the image.  Schiller is the large elongated crater North of the basin.   Zucchius is the crater in the lower right hand corner.
30. Schiller	12 days
30. Schiller-Schickard	12 days		Schickard is the largest crater in the image. Schiller lies near the right edge. Below Schickard is Nasmyth and Phocylides.
30. Schiller	12.3 days
30. Schiller	13.33 days