Observing the Moon – north-west quadrant

The western side of the Moon comes into view as the lunar phase waxes from First Quarter towards Full Moon, revealing more treats for stargazers, even equipped with small telescopes, and binocular users.

Watch the Apennine mountain range continue to reveal itself, followed by the spectacular craters Copernicus, Kepler and the brilliant Aristarchus. When the Moon is Full, great bright rays of debris can be seen stretching away from these impact sites.

Sinus Iridum is a lava-flooded bay on the edge of Mare Imbrium, the Sea of Rains. Nearby you will find the dome Rümker, a peculiar pattern of bumps. The last of the major maria to become visible as the Moon approaches Full is Oceanus Procellarum, the Ocean of Storms.

For an alternative, inverted view, here is a chart with south at the top.

You can download a check sheet for the entire list of 50 features here! (PDF file).

 

Our list of 50 features

1. Albategnius
2. Alphonsus
3. Alpine Valley
4. Altai scarp
5. Apennines
6. Archimedes
7. Aristarchus
8. Aristillus
9. Aristoteles
10. Arzachel
11. Autolycus
12. Bessel
13. Birt
14. Bullialdus
15. Catharina
16. Clavius
17. Copernicus
18. Cyrillus
19. Endymion
20. Eudoxus
21. Fracastorius
22. Gassendi
23. Grimaldi
24. Herodotus
25. Hevelius
26. Hipparchus
27. Kepler
28. Lamont
29. Langrenus
30. Linné
31. Menelaus
32. Petavius
33. Piccolomini
34. Plato
35. Posidonius
36. Proclus
37. Ptolemaeus
38. Purbach
39. Regiomontanus
40. Riccioli
41. Rümker
42. Schickard
43. Schiller
44. Stöfler
45. Straight Wall
46. Theophilus
47. Tycho
48. Vendelinus
49. Walter
50. Wargentin