Good evening, everyone.
As some of you know I do visit
www.cloudynights.com
regularly. I did notice on the November calendar that the Lunar X would be appearing on the Moon's terminator at 17.37 UT on the 18th November. The Lunar X is formed by a set of craters which all have names. They are: La Caille, Blanchinus, Werner and Purbach. The X was simply outstanding at 112X -pure white with plenty of dark shadows around it. It almost seemed to be floating above the lunar surface -which of course it was not. This is only my second time I have observed it. I could easily see it well before 17.37. In fact, I observed it from 17.15 UT onwards.
Whilst I was enjoying this spectacular sight from my front lawn, my wife came home and she was very happy to the Lunar X. It was Valerie's birthday and it was most fitting that she was receiving a birthday kiss from the Moon!
Furthermore, I did see a fairly bright star east of the Moon. It was 18 Aquarii (magnitude +5.5). The almost half phased Moon occulted it at 18.27. This occultation was highlighted in the Orbit magazine and I was indeed thrilled to witness it live.
Also, between 18.00 and 18.15, I did see something most unusual. For an extremely short moment, I saw something very faint travelling from north to south on the invisible side of the Moon. I could see very dimly the Earthshine and what must have been a piece of man-made debris shooting past. I would say it was about magnitude +8 or 9. I thought I was seeing things, but no -it happened alright. Needless to say, I have never seen such an event before.
Finally, I must mention some other lunar features I observed. The Alpine Valley was close to the terminator on the north side of the Moon. The Altai Scarp looked very prominent on the south side. Rimae Fresnel, Rima Ariadaeus, Rima Hyginus were all on view. (These are all valleys). Also right on the terminator west of the Cassini crater, I could see Mons Piton as a very bright solitary mountain peak. It is a mountain 3600 metres high above the Lunar surface.
Oh and in case you were wondering, I did treat Valerie out for a big meal in an Indian restaurant. It was a very fitting way to celebrate all that we observed through my William Optics 158 mm apochromatic refractor in the early evening.
Thank you for reading. Feedback is very welcome. A truly historic night for me.
Clear skies,
Aubrey.
  