20 December 2016

Copernicus and Rupes Recta

It's been a while since my last lunar sketch but I've been so busy and clouds were not much kind...

Finally, taking advantage of some clear nights, I managed to complete a couple of sketches of our satellite.

The first one I made represents Rupes Recta, a curious and very popular rille, well observable near the first quarter.


I loved the sharp shadow that the cliff made on the flat surface of a large, old crater. Just on its left you can see the Birth crater with another rille called Rima Birth. Sadly the seeing was not so great and I couldn't see that rille.

Next day the Moon was just a bit gibbous, and Copernicus crater popped out the lunar night. Copernicus is a relatively young crater and it offers a stunning view full of lights and shadows, with terraced borders and a very high central peak.


I took like 45 minutes to sketch all the details I could see. Again, seeing was not so good.

Thanks for reading, share this if you like my sketches!