The Lunar 100 Plus Gallery

Shoestring Astronomy by Doug Anderson

     In the April 2004 issue of Sky & Telescope magazine, author Charles A. Wood sets out of list of 100 objects on the moon in his article The Lunar 100. Most of these objects were selected to illustrate the geological history of the moon. Some of the objects are significant from the standpoint of man's exploration of the moon. Most of these features require some planning to observe in terms of timing the observation to take advantage of favorable illumination near the terminator (the line where light and dark meet on the face of the moon). Some features near the edge also require timing with respect to the libration of the moon. A few of the objects are so small that they challenge our ability to see detail from the surface of the Earth due to our distance and our atmosphere. The list is arranged in order of easiest to most difficult to observe.

     While searching for the objects of the Lunar 100, I have 'discovered' other interesting objects. I decided to keep my own list of the Lunar 100 Plus objects. They are listed at the bottom of the table, in roughly the order I have stumbled across them. Not being as well versed in the geology and history of the moon as Mr. Wood, most of my list items were just things that caught my eye.

     Many astronomers regard the moon as simply the largest source of light pollution. I was certainly one of those. I'm sure Mr. Wood's article has changed that viewpoint for many amateurs. I now look forward to those clear nights when the moon is out. Since photography of the moon using a digital camera or webcam is relatively simple, I decided to challenge myself to try and capture all 100 objects in photographs. I may never get all 100, but I keep in mind that the journey is usually more interesting than the destination.

     I have summarized the list below. Click on feature names that have active links to see the pictures I have taken of that object.

     One amazing tool I use to help in planning is the Virtual Moon Atlas software written by Patrick Chevalley and Christian Legrand. They use the proper Latin naming convention for lunar features, so I have included VMA database names in the table as well. If you decide to download their excellent software, you can locate these objects yourself. I also used their software to pick the lunation dates when each feature should be near the terminator. Another nice feature about their software is that it links you to lunar orbiter photos of the region around most of the objects in their database, providing additional aid in locating these objects.

The Lunar 100