Hi all
The Riphaeus Mountains are a lonely collection of raised peaks on the border of Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Cognitum. They are a stretched Y shape. The "bowl" has a slight circular shape, suggesting that it is the remnant of a crater that was subsequently flooded. On the section facing Cognitum, the mountains form an arc, again, giving the impression that they are the remnants of a former crater. Maybe this section of the moon was more like the southern highlands before being flooded.
The crater Euclides lies to the west of the mountains. It is a regular circular crater, it sits in a field of material that is lighter than the surrounding floor, this lighter material may have been dredged up from the below the surface on impact.
In the southern region of Oceanus Procellarum there are a number of ghost craters, they are visible thanks to the sun being low in the lunar sky, when the sun climbs higher they will most likely disappear.
A Cosmic Cat has been using the moon as a scratching post. On the raised land on the borders of Mare Humorum and Palus Epidemiarum three scratches etched into the landscape, all running in a curved direction. They are Rimae Hippalus ad Rupes Kelvin. Rupes Kelvin runs through the breached crater Hippalus and Rimae Hipplaus runs to the east of Hippalus towards the crater Agatharchides A.
Watching the sun rise over Gassendi is a wonderful sight. The rim facing the rising sun is a brilliant white, the top of the central peak has touched the rays of the sun and gleams like a diamond in the darkness. The top edges of the western rim is also catching the rays of the early morning sun. The north-east section has three bright spots running in an arc, there are two dimmer spots just below, continuing the arc. Two more bright spots are further south along the rim. All these bright spots give an indication of the uneven height that is the crater rim, together, they look like Bailey's Beads as seen during a solar eclipse.
East of Gassendi, and north of Agatharchides, is a patch of lighter lunar material called "The Helmet". There is a clear defining border between this feature and the darker material of the Cognitum surface. This is believed to be older material that had managed to keep its head above the later flooding. There is a line of higher material running down the length of the feature and small craters.
I have seen UFOs on the moon. South of Plato, on the night side, there are two brilliant points of light, the northern light looking slightly elongated. Three smaller lights form a triangle around the lower light. Does anyone know the phone number of that guy with the mad hair on the telly? You know the guy, he is always on about aliens. My theory is that they are highest points on Montes Harbinger catching the first light of a new day.
Paul
Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better programs, and the universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the universe is winning.
Rich Cook
