Observing the Moon

With the Moon so close to the Earth, even through a small telescope, you can see it's surface is very different from that of the Earth. Try looking at the Moon through binoculars.

Using a large telescope, such as the JMU Liverpool Telescope (LT), it is possible to see a huge amount of surface detail.

A list of common features that you may like to identify for yourself are shown below:

Craters

A large number of craters cover the Moon's surface and these can be hundreds of kilometres across. They are mainly caused by the impact of meteorites. Even with a small telescope many are visible from the Earth.

Young craters have bright rays extending hundreds of kilometres across the surface caused when material is ejected at impact.

Craters are much wider than they are deep, although observation through a telescope often gives the impression that they are very deep. Standing in the centre of large crater and looking towards the horizon would not necessarily reveal the perimeter wall of the structure.

Maria

Maria are the largest features found on the Moon's surface and are smooth darkened areas. They are sometimes referred to as 'seas' because early observers looking at the Moon with the naked eye thought they must be large areas of water.

Massive impacts early in the life of the Moon created large basins in the surface that fille d with lava flowing from the Moon's interior. It is interesting to note that the Moon's crust is thicker on the far side where there are virtually no maria.

Highlands

Rilles

These are trenches in the Moon's surface a few kilometres wide and hundreds of metres deep. Rilles that are straight in appearance are caused by faults in the lunar crust, while those that have a snake-like appearance are formed by underground lava tubes that have collapsed.

Domes

Domes are low, rounded hills with shallow slopes, often having a crater at their summit. They can be 25 kilometres across and 200 metres high. Their shape suggests that they were created from more viscous lava probably flowing up from below on to level ground and cooling in the form of a dome.