{"id":21535,"date":"2021-08-04T19:02:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T19:02:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/?p=98949"},"modified":"2021-08-04T19:37:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T19:37:34","slug":"a-guide-to-the-moons-endymion-crater","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/rss_feed\/a-guide-to-the-moons-endymion-crater\/","title":{"rendered":"A guide to the Moon\u2019s Endymion Crater"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"rssexcerpt\"><\/p><p class=\"rssauthor\">By Pete Lawrence\n                \t\t<\/p><p class=\"rssbyline\">Published: Wednesday, 04 August 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p><hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\">Endymion<\/span><span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\"> is an impressive walled plain located <\/span>close to the Moon\u2019s northeast limb.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\">As a <span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\">consequence, the crater appears foreshortened from <\/span>Earth and is subject to the effects of <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/lunar-libration-what-is\/&quot;\">lunar libration<\/a> \u2013 a rocking and rolling action stemming from the fact that the Moon\u2019s orbit is tilted and elliptical.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\">A favourable libration will bring Endymion closer to the Moon\u2019s centre and as it does so, 260km Mare Humboldtianum also rotates into view, visible between Endymion and the Moon\u2019s limb.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>For more info on lunar observing, read our guides on <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/how-to-observe-the-moon\/&quot;\">how to observe the Moon<\/a> and the <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/advice\/skills\/best-features-observe-moon\/&quot;\">best features on the Moon<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-11233\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/lua_22_42_04Z_g3_b3_ap51_G-a23105d.png?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C473&quot;\" width=\"&quot;1312&quot;\" height=\"&quot;1000&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Moon\" title=\"&quot;Moon_Endymion_002&quot;\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> The region around Endymion Crater by Ronald Piacenti Junior, Norma Observatory, Brasilia-DF, Brazil. Equipment: Orion StarMax 90mm, Skywatcher All View Mount, Expanse ASI 120 MC (CMOS).<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\">When the <span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\">libration is unfavourable and Endymion is close to the lunar limb, it may appear separated from the limb by <\/span>an amount equal to the crater\u2019s narrowest apparent dimension.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p1&quot;\">At a favourable libration, Endymion\u2019s eastern rim appears separated from the Moon\u2019s limb by 2.5x the crater\u2019s longest apparent dimension \u2013 a notable variation.<\/p>\n<h1><strong>Facts about Endymion Crater<\/strong><\/h1>\n<ul><li class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\"><b>Size:<\/b> 126km<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\"><b>Longitude\/Latitude: <\/b>56.5\u02da E, 53.6\u02da N<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\"><b>Age: <\/b>Older than 3.9 billion years<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\"><b>Best time to see: <\/b>Three days after new Moon (14\u201315 Feb) and two days after full Moon (30 Jan &amp; 28 Feb)\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s1&quot;\"><b>Minimum observing equipment:<\/b> 10x binoculars<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-98999\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2021\/08\/Endymion-Crater-Moon-bd368ca.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C369&quot;\" width=\"&quot;1200&quot;\" height=\"&quot;715&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;\u00fe\" title=\"&quot;\u00fe\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> \u00fe Crater Endymion is located on the Moon\u2019s northeastern limb. Credit: Pete Lawrence<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">Endymion is 4km deep with isolated peaks on the eastern rim rising as high as 4.6km.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">Its location means that the crater is best viewed during the early <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/space-science\/why-does-the-moons-appearance-change\/&quot;\">lunar phases<\/a> or after <a href=\"\/\/www.skyatnightmagazine.com\/astrophotography\/moon\/full-moon\/&quot;\">full Moon<\/a>. As ever, most detail appears when sunlight hits the crater obliquely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">Endymion\u2019s rim consists of a series of complex terraces leading down to a smooth, virtually featureless floor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">With care, it\u2019s possible to see variation in the tonal appearance of this floor; lighter streaks running north to south are the most obvious features here.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\">The completely smooth appearance of Endymion\u2019s floor is broken at high resolution.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\">There\u2019s a curious line of three craterlets towards the north <\/span>of the crater, the northernmost two being 3km in diameter, the southern one slightly smaller at 2.7km.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">A further <span class=\"&quot;s2&quot;\">depression sits west <\/span>of the middle craterlet but this isn\u2019t as deep as the main trio. These features stand as a good test for a 200mm instrument or high-resolution imaging setup.<\/p>\n<div class=\"&quot;image-handler__container\" style=\"padding-bottom:\"> <img class=\"&quot;wp-image-8938\" align=\"\" data-src=\"&quot;https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/25\/2019\/02\/Endymion-Atlas-Humboldt-peak-by-Chris-Dignan-36c5e49.jpg?quality=90&amp;resize=620%2C912&quot;\" width=\"&quot;2064&quot;\" height=\"&quot;3036&quot;\" alt=\"&quot;Endymion\" title=\"&quot;Moon_Endymion_001&quot;\" \/><\/div><div class=\"&quot;caption-hold&quot;\"><figcaption class=\"&quot;wp-caption-text&quot;\"><span class=\"&quot;caption-copy&quot;\"><i class=\"&quot;icon-arrow\" \/> Endymion Crater and Surrounding Area by Chris Dignan, Oxfordshire, UK. Equipment: Celestron EdgeHD 8\u2033 Schmidt-Cassegrain, Celestron AVX mount, Zwo Design ASI120mm mono, Astronomik Red\/IR and Light\/IR filters<\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\"&quot;im-image-caption&quot;\" \/><\/div>\n<h1><strong>Endymion\u2019s unnamed crater<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">If you fancy another observing challenge, there\u2019s an interesting <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">unnamed ancient crater<\/span>, 121km southwest of Endymion\u2019s centre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">To locate it, use the narrow dimension of the crater as a ruler and imagine where the western rim would appear if you slid the crater towards the Moon\u2019s centre, so that the eastern rim would end up where the current crater\u2019s centre lies.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">If you can follow this admittedly convoluted description, the displaced western rim overlays the unnamed feature, a 6.5km shallow crater with a perfectly aligned inner ring that\u2019s 2.8km in diameter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">This unusual concentric crater lies 26.5km to the northwest of 7km <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">Endymion K<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">Located immediately east of Endymion is <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">Endymion A<\/span>, a well-defined 30km-crater itself, showing lots of internal structure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">The same can be said of 60km <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">Endymion B<\/span> although this feature lies a fair distance further to the northeast, 182km centre-to-centre from Endymion A.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">North of Endymion is 136km <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">De La Rue<\/span>, an ancient and rather battered feature. Between the pair lies 15km <span class=\"&quot;s3&quot;\">Endymion G<\/span>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">This small crater sits on the western edge of a large unnamed lava plain.<\/p>\n<p class=\"&quot;p2&quot;\">The northern, western and eastern borders of this plain appear like a rough crater rim, leading to the speculation that this is actually a highly eroded ancient crater.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\" \/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Pete Lawrence Published: Wednesday, 04 August 2021 at 12:00 am Endymion is an impressive walled plain located close to the Moon\u2019s northeast limb. As a consequence, the crater appears foreshortened from Earth and is subject to the effects of lunar libration \u2013 a rocking and rolling action stemming from the fact that the Moon\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"template":"","categories":[34],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Pete Lawrence Published: Wednesday, 04 August 2021 at 12:00 am Endymion is an impressive walled plain located close to the Moon\u2019s northeast limb. As a consequence, the crater appears foreshortened from Earth and is subject to the effects of lunar libration \u2013 a rocking and rolling action stemming from the fact that the Moon\u2019s&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21535"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcskyatnight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}