Friday, 18 March 2016

Montes Apenninus area

Montes Apenninus

The enormous mountain to left from center is Montes Apenninus, illuminated superbly by Sun giving a good look and nice contrast.
To the left is Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers or Sea of Rains) and to the right Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity) - two huge seas. Maria (seas in latin) are covering 16% of Moon's surface, mostly located on the near (visible) side. They are basically large, dark, basaltic plains, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions.
The early astronomers named them this way, because they assumed to be actual seas.








"Montes Apenninus are a rugged mountain range on the northern part of the Moon's near side. They are named after the Apennine Mountains in Italy. With their formation dating back about 3.9 billion years, Montes Apenninus are still relatively young.

This range forms the southeastern border of the large Mare Imbrium lunar mare and the northwestern border of the Terra Nivium highland region. It begins just to the west of the prominent crater Eratosthenes, which abuts against the southern face of the range. To the west of these mountains is a narrow gap where Mare Imbrium in the north joins Mare Insularum to the south. Further to the west are the Montes Carpatus mountains."

Wikipedia


Equipment

Skywatcher 127/1500 maksutov (MC) scope on an eq5 mount
For imaging - Zwo ASI 120MC planetary colour camera



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