Moon Mosaic

Captured on June 13, 2006 using K3CCDTools and a ToUcam 840 camera at prime focus of my C8 SGT XLT. This image is a mosaic of 5 images, each a stack of 100 frames from approximately 900 captured. Images stacked and processed in K3CCDTools, then merged, unsharp masked, cropped and saved for the web in Photoshop CS2. Resolution is approximately 1km per pixel. Click on the image to see the full size image.

Mare Crisium is visible on the right hand side of this image. The Sea of Crises is an oval mare with it's major axis running east-west. It covers 176,000 square kilometres, is approximately 570 kms diameter and is surrounded by a mountainous wall clearly visible in this image. The two largest craters in Mare Crisium are Picard (left) and Peirce (right). Picard is 23 kms in diameter with a sharp rim, while Peirce is 18.5 kms in diameter. Just to the right of Peirce is the 11km crater Swift. Between Picard and the nearest "coast" of Mare crisium is the crater Greaves which is 14kms in diameter.

At centre top is the complex prominent crater of Langenus. Langrenus is 132 kms in diameter with central peaks and terraced walls. Below Langrenus is Mare Fecunditatis, The Sea of Fertility, covering and area of 326,000 square kilometres and containing the trinity of Bilharz, Atwood and Naonobu craters. Atwood is the closer of the three to Langrenus and is 29kms in diameter. Bilharz is the largest of the three at 43kms diameter, while Naonobu is 35kms diameter. Below and to the left of these three craters is Dorsa Mawson, a system of mare ridges 180kms in length.

At the bottom centre, in the middle of Mare Fecunditatis is the crater Messier and it's partner Messier A. Both Messier and Messier A are atypical elongated craters. Messier is 9 x 11kms, and it's elongation is clearly visible in this image. Messier A is 13 x 11kms and is the source of two bright rays extending to the west (down and left in the image). Dorsa Geikie is visible between Messier and Bilharz. Dorsa Geikie extends over 240kms.

The next major crater left of Langrenus is Vendelinus - a large, degraded crater with a smooth floor 147kms in diameter. On the edge of Vendilinus, towards Langrenus, is the distinct crater Lohse which is 42 kms in diameter and displaying a central peak in this image.

Further left again we find the major crater of Petavius. Petavius is a 177kms diameter complex crater with multiple central peaks (described as a peak and ridge?) The crater walls display terraces in this image. In front of Petavius is the 57km diameter crater Wrottesley displaying it's central peak.

Jumping further left again to the next major crater finds Furnerius - a 125km diameter complex crater. The back edge of the rim of Furnerius B is visible as a white crescent in the shadow inside Furnerius. In front of Furnerius is Stevinus - a prominent 75km diameter complex crater with a central peak. Between Stevinus and Petravius is the 83km diameter Snellius crater.