Hitchhiker's Guide to Rukl Chart 48

Messier:
Messier A (formerly Pickering) (JRF <freeman _at_ netcom.com>)
Interesting double crater, with a double ray extending toward the west.
Messier and Messier A (...Akkana)
It's easy to identify Messier and Messier A: look for the crater that looks like a comet with a long double tail. The trick is that Messier A (previously called Pickering) is the one with the tail, not Messier. Too bad; it would have been a nice tribute to Messier to name a comet-like crater after him (perhaps that's why Pickering was renamed?)
Goclenius (JRF <freeman _at_ netcom.com>)
Irregular crater, crossed by clefts, with a rille system extending to the northwest.
Rimae Goclenius (David North <d _at_ timocharis.com>)
Most riveting tonight was a beautifully lit Rimae Goclenius, starting from the crater of the same name -- well placed on the terminator. All three tendrils were easily seen as dark lines with some width and highlight detail, as well as the short extension into the crater itself. The long dendritic portion that heads toward Lubbock was particularly fine, seeming to meander beside a mountain before shooting off north. The entire area seems a little rougher than the charts show it (probably a low-light phenomenon) which added to the richness of the view.

See also the discussion under Rimae Gutenberg.

Moon-Lite Atlas for chart 48

This page last modified: Dec 06, 2020
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