The constantly evolving phases of the Moon of the Earth have a multitude of targets for amateur astronomers to explore, ranging from magnificent craters and lunar seas to strange visual phenomena created like sunlight takes place through the ancient surface, forming familiar forms where none should be.
So take your telescope and join us on a short “road trip” guided from the August moon, in which we will highlight a series of amazing targets to explore during each moon phase.
Any backyard telescope will allow you to choose the targets on our list, although a range with an opening of 6 inches or more will help reveal more details in the ancient lunar landscapes. Make sure to consult our roundups of the best telescopes and binoculars to explore the solar system if you find yourself wanting a more in-depth look at the natural satellite of the earth.
The first quarter moon (August 1)
The nights following each new moon phase will see the line separating the night of the day on the lunar surface inexorably crawling west. On August 1, this line of demarcation – known as Terminator – will divide the lunar surface in two, announcing the start of the “first quarter phase” of the moon. During this phase, the moon will already be raised in the sky at sunset, with its completely lit right side and its hidden left under a shadow veil.
The nights leading on August 1 present a perfect opportunity to seek the historic landing site of the Apollo 11 on the southwest shore of Mare Coquilitatis (Latin for the Sea of Tranquility), from where Neil Armstrong announced that “the Aigle A landed” on July 20, 1969. Fundamental black for the right of the naked eye as a dark for the end of the Equator to the right of the naked eye as a dark for the end of the Ecuador with a naked Terminator, as indicated on the graphic below.
A 6 -inch telescope will help you zero in the landing zone – known as the basic tranquility – looking downwards prominent craters Ritter and Sabine, which are at the west end of the lunar mare.
Two nights later, on August 4, the Moon terminator will fall west to the impact basin of the Iridum sinus, which reveals a brilliant “golden handle” in the northwest region of the lunar surface. This striking effect occurs when the sun’s rays choose the peaks of the mountain chain of Montes Jura at the northern end of Mars imbrium.
The “Sturgeon Moon” (August 9)
On August 9, the relentless march towards the west of the Terminator will have swept the entire lunar surface, preparing the ground so that the complete “moon of sturgeon” slips above the horizon at sunset, the local time. The Lune of Sturgeon is appointed for the period of the year when the titular fish is most easily captured; It has a good opportunity to observe the powerful form of Tycho crater extending its influence on the lunar disc.
Tycho is easily visible to the naked eye, thanks in part to the vast streaks (or rays) of reflecting material to the exterior through the lunar surface following the impact of brutal asteroids which created the crater 53 miles wide (85 kilometers). Each of the largest impact sites in the moon would have once hosted a system of brilliant rays like Tycho, although exposure to the hard space environment has since caused a lot. After all, Tycho only formed 108 million years ago, while other lunar craters were estimated at 3.9 billion years.
The full moon of August also presents a good time to learn the locations of the several lunar mare (Latin for “seas”) which can be spotted with the naked eye while the surface of the natural satellite of the earth is darkening. Each of the mares visible today was created billions of years ago, when lava flows filled the network of lunar craters cut by powerful asteroid strikes. The lava lakes hardly hardened for “reproan” the moon, forming huge basalt plains which can be explored without the need for a telescope or binoculars.
Crisium of mare can be spotted as a dark oval north -east of the lunar surface, while Mare Tranquillitatis (the sea of tranquility) – which hosts the landing site of Apollo 11 – is located on its left, bordered from the north by Mare Serenitatis (the Sea of Serenity).
The equatorial region on the west side of the lunar disc is dominated by Oceanus Protellarum (the storm ocean), with Mare Imbrium (the A showers’ sea) to the north and the mare’s nubium (the sea of clouds) in the south.
The third quarter of the moon (August 16)
The passage of the full moon will see the terminator return to sweep the eastern member of the lunar surface until, finally, on August 16, the moon of the third quarter will rise, with its right half bathed in shade and its left lighting by the direct sunlight.
August 16 is an excellent opportunity to observe a dramatic demonstration of play of light and shadow through the Terminator and to track down a pair of massive craters named to honor two legendary ancient Greek philosophers, inventors and astronomers: Plato and Archimedes.
Look for the Plato crater 62 miles wide (10 km) just below the narrow shape of fridge pond shortly after the moon currency around midnight on August 16. Then follow the Terminator South to find the Archimeds impact site of similar size above the pronounced sweeping of the mountain chain Montes Apenninus.
The following night (August 17) is a wonderful moment to see Copernic’s craters and Kepler enlighten Oceanus Protellarum. The two impact sites are surrounded by brilliant ejecta rays, although less pronounced than those presented by Tycho further south.
Copernicus’ crater looks particularly impressive at that time, with its edge to the west and its central peak thrown into relief by the oblique angle of the sun. Copernicus had been proposed as a candidate landing site for the lunar crew mission of Apollo 18, although the program was canceled well before the launch date due to budgetary constraints.
New moon (August 23)
During the new moon phase, the lunar disc hides invisible in the day sky, leaving the spotless night by the dazzling of the reflected sun. Enough of the city’s lights at that time to chase the radiant strip of the launch of the Milky Way, which can be spotted during the summer months streaming towards the eastern horizon while the twilight gives way to the night in places of the dark sky.
The moon will appear as a slim decline or wax crescent on a handful of nights before and after the new moon phase, during which you can see the extent of the shadow of the infused lunar surface of a sweet light. This phenomenon, known as the “earth earth”, or “da Vinci Glow”, occurs when the moon is roughly positioned between our planet and the sun, how the sun’s light reflected by the surface of the earth bathes the unlit lunar disc in a subtle light.
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