3 stunning lunar craters to explore during the half-lit first quarter moon tonight
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A NASA graphic showing the first quarter moon on the night of January 25. | Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, edited by Anthony Wood in Canva
Grab your telescope and join us this evening for a tour of three magnificent lunar craters named after eminent astronomers and philosophers who have helped shape our understanding of the universe around us!
Earth’s moon is an impressive sight, especially when viewed through the magnifying eyepiece of a telescope, which helps reveal the incredible array of craters scarring its ancient surface.
Each of these impact sites bears witness to the violence of its creation: cataclysmic collisions that carved vast basins into the lunar surface, while throwing miles of debris onto the surface of Earth’s natural satellite. Read on to explore three of these geographic wonders named in honor of legendary astronomers Aristotle, Eudoxus of Cnidus and Giovanni Domenico Cassini, which make spectacular targets on the nights surrounding the first quarter moon on January 25.
Eudoxus Crater
Look above the southern horizon at sunset on January 25 to find the moon with its right half lit by direct sunlight and its left veiled by shadow. The 67-kilometer crater Eudoxus is located in the northeastern quadrant of the lunar surface, above the ancient solidified lava plain of Mare Serenitatis.
The vast impact crater is named after the Greek astronomer and mathematician Eudoxus of Cnidus, who attempted to describe the movement of the planets in the sky by developing a model of our planet. solar system in which Earth – at its center – is surrounded by a series of concentric spheres which dictated the movement of celestial bodies.
The Eudoxus and Aristotle craters on the night of January 25. | Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, edited by Anthony Wood in Canva
Of course, the 3.4 km deep crater that now bears his name was formed several million years before Eudoxus invented his model which silently bears witness to the many spectacular revisions that led to our current heliocentric view of the solar system. A large portion of the ancient crater’s eastern interior will be shrouded in impenetrable shadow on the night of January 25, giving the impact site a dramatic appearance entirely lacking during other lunar phases.
Aristotle Crater
Next, sweep your eyes just north of Eudoxus to find the 87 km Aristoteles crater bordering the southern edge of Mare Frigoris (the Cold Sea). As with Eudoxus, the angle of the moon and sun will cast sections of Aristotle Crater in shadow, highlighting the rugged terrain bordering the central basin plain, on which a set of hill-like features reside.
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The crater is named after another famous Greek philosopher and astronomer, Aristotle, who lived from 384 to 322 BC. Like Eudoxus, Aristotle believed that the Earth was located at the center of the universe and developed his own model of the solar system in which the sun, stars and the planets revolved around it in a series of solid, crystalline spheres set in motion by a “Prime Mover”, which resided in the outermost sphere.
Aristotle was also one of the first of his contemporaries to recognize that the Earth was spherical, based on his observations of the Earth. curved shadow projected onto the lunar surface during a lunar eclipse.
Cassini Crater
For the final leg of our tour, we’ll make a jump to the terminator, above the Montes Caucasus mountain range, to visit Cassini Crater, which lies east of Mare Imbrium (the Sea of Showers), 40 degrees above the lunar equator.
The Eudoxus and Aristotle craters on the night of January 25. | Credit: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio, edited by Anthony Wood in Canva
The impact site, 57 km wide, owes its name to the 17th and 18th century astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini. His illustrious career saw him make detailed observations of the planets, calculate the rotation speed of March and discover the Saturnian moons Rhea, Tethys And Dione.
Only the outer rim of Cassini crater is visible, the basin itself having been flooded by molten lava, which cooled several million years ago to resurface inside. Since then, two younger craters have formed in Cassini’s expanse, whose basins are shrouded in darkness at the time of the first quarter moon, making it a visually spectacular telescopic target.
Want to explore the ancient surface of the Moon for yourself? So be sure to read our guide to observe the lunar surface with a telescope. If you want to update your equipment, you can also check out our selection of best binoculars And telescopes for astronomywhich cater to all experience levels and budgets.
Editor’s note: If you would like to share your lunar astrophotography with Space.com readers, please send your photo(s), comments, and your name and location to spacephotos@space.com.
