Abstract
In the chapters that follow this one, you will begin to observe the Moon, so in this chapter I will give you some general tips for determining lunar directions and where the terminator will be tonight. I will, show you how the Moon moves about in its orbit, how to use various lunar charts and lunar maps, how to calculate librations, and what lunar sights to look for with the naked eye or binoculars. All of this is in preparation for going outside to observe and enjoy the magnificent features of our closest celestial neighbor.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
When I refer to lunar charts, I am referring to a page(s) from a set of pages that when combined make up a larger portion of or maybe all of the Moon. Lunar maps refer to an individual map, usually depicting the entire nearside of the Moon.
- 2.
D. H. Sadler, Transactions of the International Astronomical Union, Volume XIB, Proceedings of the Eleventh General Assembly, Berkeley, 1961 (London: Academic Press, 1962), 235.
- 3.
Albert E. Waugh, Sundials: Their Theory and Construction (New York: Dover Publications, 1973), 167, 168.
- 4.
Giovanni-Domenico Cassini, “Traité de L’origine et de Progrès de L’Astronomie,” Recueil d’Observations Faites en Plusieurs Voyages par Ordre de SA Majesté pour Perfectionner l’Astronomie et la Geographie (Paris: de l’Imprimerie Royale, 1693), 34, 35.
- 5.
Edward MacCurdy, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (London: Jonathan Cape, 1939), 1:292. Translation is from Manuscript A, sheet 64, in the Library of the Institute de France.
- 6.
William T. Skilling and Robert S. Richardson, Astronomy (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1939), 240. Otto Struve, “Photometry of the Moon,” Sky & Telescope (August 1960), 70–72. Robert Richardson also wrote science fiction stories and articles under the pseudonym of Philip Lathan.
- 7.
Selenographical Society, “Memoranda” Selenographical Journal (London: Warren Hall and James J. Lovitt, Printers, 1878), 3, 4.
- 8.
Edward MacCurdy, The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. 1:292. Translation is from the Codice Atlantico, sheet 300, retro b.
- 9.
In the world of science, credit for a discovery usually goes to the first person to publish his/her findings. In the case of the correct explanation for earthshine, many people incorrectly attribute the discovery to Leonardo da Vinci. His notebook (Codice Atlantico) was not published until about 375 years after his death. By the time of their publication (1894–1904), the cause of earthshine was widely known. Thus priority should go to Mästlin and would, except for the fact that his 1596 book was not widely distributed in his time and is extremely rare today. On page 22 of his book Sidereus Nuncius or the Sidereal Messenger, translator Albert Van Helden (1940–202) quotes Edward Rosen (1906–85) as stating that Mästlin’s 1596 theses is “now lost.” The book is not lost, just extremely rare today.
- 10.
Galileo Galilaei, Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems, translated by Stillman Drake (Berkeley: Univ. California Press, 1967), 67. The “baffling light” Galileo now called “the secondary light of the Moon.”
- 11.
Ibid., 98
- 12.
Walter Henry Haas, “The Training of the Eye for Astronomical Observing” Popular Astronomy 54 (49) (539) (November 1946), 449–451.
- 13.
William H. Pickering, “Report on Mars, No. 11” Popular Astronomy 23 (9) (229) (November 1915), 579, 580. W. H. Pickering, “A Series of Tests for the Eyesight” Journal of the British Astronomical Association 36 (3) (December 1925), 83, 84. At the meeting of the BAA on December 30, 1925, Rev. Theodore Evelyn Reece Phillips (1868–1942) read Pickering’s paper, entitled “A Series of Tests for the Eyesight.” Refer to The Observatory, 49 (No. 621) (February 1926), 52.
- 14.
Most of the sources consulted for this paragraph refer to the Moon as being at the zenith for this illusion. The Moon does not have to be directly overhead at the observer’s zenith for someone to think that it looks larger when rising or setting.
- 15.
Aristotle, Meteorologica, translated by D. H. P. Lee (Harvard Univ. Press, Loeb Classical Library, number 397, 1952), 253, 255.
- 16.
R. H. Day and Theodore E. Parks, To Exorcize a Ghost from the Perceptual Machine, in The Moon Illusion Maurice Hershenson, ed. (Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989),348.
- 17.
I was unable to locate any biographical information on this particular Dr. Müller, including his full name or life dates.
- 18.
L. Trouvelot, “The Moon’s Zodiacal Light” The American Journal of Science and Arts, 15 (No. 1150 (Nos. 85–90) (January to June 1878), 88, 89.
- 19.
James H. Worthington, “An Observatory on the Equator,” Popular Astronomy 30 (7) (297) (August–September 1922), 404–407.
- 20.
William H. Pickering, “A Meteoric Satellite,” Popular Astronomy 31 (2) (302) (February 1923), 82–85.
- 21.
Richard Baum, The Haunted Observatory (Amherst: Prometheus Books, 2007), 104–106.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Garfinkle, R.A. (2020). General Tips for Observing the Moon with Both the Naked Eye and Optical Instruments. In: Luna Cognita. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1664-1_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1664-1_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1663-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1664-1
eBook Packages: Physics and AstronomyPhysics and Astronomy (R0)