Talk:Observing the Moon

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Contents

[edit] Topics

Some suggested topics:

  • Observing the crescent moon just after a new moon, along with it's connection to Islam.
  • Differences in feature appearance depending on the angle of the Sun.
  • Using shadows to measure the height of features.
  • Lunar occultations and eclipses.
  • Earthshine.
  • The brightest features by albedo.
  • Transient lunar phenomenon.
  • An observational history of selenography. Observation of the SMART-1 collision. Leon Stuart's 1953 image.[1]
  • Libration and the observation of the "far side" features.

Thanks. — RJH (talk) 21:19, 16 November 2006 (UTC)

    • RJH, I believe with the mention of viewing the full phases I have covered differences due to angle of the Sun, however if you feel the need, go ahead and add anything that will strenthen this article. However, actually I think that the crescent Moon relation to Islam should go on the Islam page as it pertains not to the crescent Moon itself, but rather its symbol. In any case, I dont think that part would be relevant to the observation page.the Commander (talk)CommanderSoloho 21:59, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Main page for "Observation of the Moon"

I added this as the main page for the section "Observation of the Moon" at Moon. Hopefully this will get some people interested in adding to this topic. Lunokhod 12:50, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Thanks. CommanderSoloho 21:59, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Observation targets

I think that there should be some mention of what one can actually see on the Moon. There are a few pages having lists of lunar features; this might be a good place to start. Lunokhod 13:06, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Some links could be added, aye. On a sidenote, we need to get more people involved.CommanderSoloho 22:00, 27 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Magnification

"In the first, the higher the magnification you can achieve with your telescope, the better. About 280x works pretty well.One of the easiest and cheapest ways to increase the power of your telescope is to purchase a Barlow lens. These vary in power, but the most common is a 2x."

Okay, I can't say I completely agree with this statement. I seem to get better results with medium or low magnification, and viewing the moon through binoculars can also be an enjoyable experience. But it depends on what you are trying to do. 280x will narrow down the view to nearly the limit of resolution and will make guidance more difficult. But that's just my personal opinion, of course. :-) — RJH (talk) 16:52, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Thanks Everyone

Yeah, I can't say this is the best article yet, however it will get better. Sorry for all the trouble with this. Once again, if anyone wants, feel free to add, modify, etc. I am no expert, but this will be a better article with everyone's help. CommanderSoloho 19:21, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Afterthoughts...

I simply have no other information I can add to this that I readily know. More people need to be involved here than just me. Personally, I think this project (sorry for the expression) is going to hell in a handbasket. unsigned

[edit] "Suggested Viewing Tools" section

This section should be removed. It is not encyclopedic, and in its spirit goes against section 4) under Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information in What Wikipedia is not. Awolf002 00:42, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

I have changed this article to a stub, so please feel free to contribute to it. While I agree that we should not be too detailed in this section, I think that useful information concerning the use of filters, what magnifications are best to view certain features, etc., could be appropriate. Lunokhod 19:09, 3 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Demonstrably false statement

The article states: "During a full moon, rays of sunlight are hitting the visible portion of the moon perpendicular to the surface." This is not possible on a curved surface. Someone should fix this, but since I do not know to what. 71.102.144.27 06:27, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Daymoon

A report about an inappropriate redirect got me to look around, and I found two references to children's activities involving noticing the moon during the daytime. The activities referenced between able to note the phase of the moon with the angle made with the sun. I came here and noticed no mention of observing the moon during the daytime. After adding that, could someone redirect daymoon to here? Shenme 21:18, 14 April 2007 (UTC)