Bob Moler's Ephemeris Blog

Thursday, May 12th.  Today the sun will be up for 14 hours and 41 minutes, setting at 8:59.   The moon, 2 days past first quarter, will set at 3:40 tomorrow morning.  Tomorrow the sun will rise at 6:17.

Tonight the moon will again show a hook out into the darkness at the upper left edge of the moon for observers using binoculars or a telescope.  That’s the Jura mountains cupping the Bay of Rainbows, a rather gray lava expanse on the edge of the Sea of Showers.  At the other edge of the that sea is the great crater Copernicus, center left on the moon.  Its halo of rays will show up better when the moon is full, but now the crater itself can be appreciated.  In a telescope its is quite a sight.  It has a complex triple central peak, and terraced walls.  The small asteroid that hit it less than a billion years ago, struck the moon, gouging out the 56 mile diameter crater we see today.  Rebound created the central peaks.

* Times are for the Traverse City/Interlochen area of Michigan.  They may be different for your location.

Addendum

Bay of Rainbows and the crater Copernicus. Created using Virtual Moon Atlas.

I have more on Sinus Iridium and the Jura Mountains back in March.