Joe: My unaided attempts at moon viewing included Copernicus and Kepler. Both have large ray stuctures that draw the eye right to the central crater. A note on technique: The brightness of the moon causes the pupil to contract so that the aperture of the eye is seriously reduced and resolution in lost. Try a neutral density filter, but then I guess it wouldn't really be 'naked eye" any more. Another technique is to look away from the moon until your pupil dialates the focus on a dim star, then quickly look at the moon and note the details you can see before your pupil contracts. It's only a second at most but you can see much more in the first glance before the contraction. Others have tried shielding your eye with your hand and peek through the gaps in your fingers as you more your hand back and forth. DT --- On Sat, 3/7/09, Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Joe Bauman <josephmbauman@yahoo.com> Subject: [Utah-astronomy] obs report To: "Utah Astronomy" <utah-astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Date: Saturday, March 7, 2009, 8:37 PM This evening I was sitting in the backyard, keeping an eye on Betsy the cat and the birds she was ineffectively stalking. I had brought out the largish binocs Chuck sold me, and I enjoyed looking at both Betsy and quail, pine siskins, finches. It was about 5:45 and the atmosphere was absolutely still and clear. I looked at the moon, using the binocs, and then with naked eyes (well, naked except for my glasses). For the first time I was definitely about to see a crater on the moon without magnification -- Copernicus. Its light floor stood out clearly from the darker mare regions surrounding it. I confirmed this by using the binoculars, checking back and forth several times. I could almost, but not quite, make out Tycho. I could see the curvature of the dark mare to its left, but because Tycho is surrounded by bright material I could not quite see it.
If I look at the moon when the night is darker I lose most of the details because my eyes tend to make a big mess of things when I see a bright glaring orb in blackness. But the afternoon lighting, the air's transparency and stillness, and the phase of the moon combined to give me a great view.
Has anyone else seen a crater on the moon without telescope or binoculars?
Best wishes, Joe
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