The Golden Handle and Plato, a mineral lunar view
There’s always some fun events to see on the moon. This time: The Golden Handle
About 10 to 11 days after
new moon the valley of the rainbow bay (
Sinus Iridum) is still in shadow, while the mountain peaks of the adjacent
Montes Jura are already reached by sunlight due to their height of up to 2700 meters. Because of its concise shape, reminiscent of a
handle, and the yellowish light reflected from the moon, this formation received the name "Golden Handle". The Golden Handle is visible once within a month for several hours.
Also in the image: The lunar crater Plato, Mare Imbrium and Vallis Alpes
Plato is a lava-filled
lunarimpact crater on the
Moon. Its diameter is 101 km. It was named after ancient Greek philosopher
Plato.[1] It is located on the northeastern shore of the
Mare Imbrium, at the western extremity of the
Montes Alpes mountain range. In the mare to the south are several rises collectively named the
Montes Teneriffe. To the north lies the wide stretch of the
Mare Frigoris. East of the crater, among the
Montes Alpes, are several
rilles collectively named the Rimae Plato.
The age of Plato is about 3.84 billion years, only slightly younger than the
Mare Imbrium to the south. The rim is irregular with 2-km-tall jagged peaks that project prominent shadows across the crater floor when the Sun is at a low angle
Vallis Alpes (
Latin for "Alpine Valley") is a
lunar valley feature that bisects the
Montes Alpes range. It extends 166 km from the
Mare Imbrium basin, trending east-northeast to the edge of the
Mare Frigoris. The valley is narrow at both ends and widens to a maximum width of about 10 km along the middle stretch
C8 EHD, UV/IR, ASI2600MC, EQ6-R Pro
AutoStakkert, PixInsight, Photoshop
20230302 19:56cet
Any constructive guidance is welcome .. always looking how I can still improve on this
With thanks to the “Hemelkalendar 2023” from the “VVS - Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde” (ie. The local astronomical society), for so graciously giving the details on this in their calendar … a must have
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