In 1821 May 06 at UT 21:45 Ward (England? Large aperture
telescope, x80), Bailey (England?) and Olbers (Bremen, Germany,
refractor) observed in the Earthlit part of the Moon an apperent small
comet like feature extended from Aristarchus towards Grimaldi. The
light was similar to a glow worm. The observer had never seen anything
like it. The cameron 1978 catalog ID=89 and weight=5. The ALPO/BAA
weight=3.
In 1937 Feb 15 at UT 16:00? Arkhipov (Russia) observed in Cassini:
"Blue-greenish scintillating spots at bottom of crater were vis. on
ashen light background. (confirm of Andrenko?)". The Cameron 1978
catalog ID=419 and weight=5. The ALPO/BAA weight=3.
On 1939 Feb 23 at UT 23:00 Andrenko (Sao Paulo?, Brazil)
observed Aristarchus as a bright spot -- bluish (Cameron says
confirmation of Malakhov), The cameron 1978 catalog ID=445 and
weight=5. The ALPO/BAA weight=3.
Cusps 1953 Apr 18 UT 21:00? Observed by Wilkins (Kent, England, 15"?
reflector) "Faint extension of the cusps. (high peaks in sunlight)."
NASA catalog weight=2 (low). NASA catalog ID 558.
Cusps 1953 Apr 18 UT 21:00? Observed by Wilkins (Kent, England, 15"?
reflector) "Faint extension of the cusps. (high peaks in sunlight)."
NASA catalog weight=2 (low). NASA catalog ID #558.
On 1969 Jul 19 at UT 06:30 Whelan (Wellington, New Zealand) observed a
pulsating glow in Aristarchus crater, extending towards the north. The
Cameron 1978 catalog ID=1162 and weight=2. The ALPO/BAA weight=2.
On 1983 Sep 11 at UT 23:52 K.P. Marshall (Columbia, 12"
reflector, x268, seeing II), whilst sketching the crater
Janssen noticed a tenuous red patch on the southern junction
of the valley which joins Fabricius to A. Nothing resembling
this found on nearby areas. The ALPO/BAA weight=1.
On 2010Apr18 at UT 20:45-21:00 P. Grego (St Dennis, UK, 17"
reflector - first practice run) observed that Aristarchus in
Earthishine was the brightest that he had seen it before. The
effect had faded to normal in the next 15 minutes though. "The
bright spot was initially thought to be part of the wall of
Aristarchus, but on closer examination the spot was probably the
crater’s central peak. At around this time I estimated the
brightness of the peak to be around magnitude 8, but this is a
poor estimate as no suitable comparison stars in the immediate
vicinity of the field of view were to be seen. Aristarchus’
outline was visible, as was a clearly defined sweep of
brightness to its west (presumably the high albedo markings
southeast of Herodotus) and another illuminated area to the
north of Aristarchus (presumably the Vaisala area), and a small
illuminated patch on the eastern flanks of Aristarchus. No other
areas of the Moon in earthshine appeared to be as bright as
these markings, and there were certainly no other clearly-
defined spots as brilliant as the one that lay in Aristarchus. A
watch was kept until 22:00 UT, when the Moon went out of view
behind a tree. During this period it appeared that the spot was
becoming less bright and less clearly-defined, although the
other albedo markings in its vicinity remained visible; this may
have been a consequence of the Moon’s diminishing altitude.
ALPO/BAA weight=1.
Messier 1981 Sep 03 UT 19:15-19:55 Observed by Evans (England, 254mm
Newtonian, seeing II-III, transparency fair). "Messier was under going
obscuration" BAA Lunar Section Circular report. ALPO/BAA weight=1.
On 1967 Jul 20 at UT 07:00 Whelan, (Wellington, New Zealnd) saw a
pulsating glow from Aristarchus crater, and this continued, although
less pronounced. This was during the apolo 11 watch. The Cameron 1978
catalog ID=1172 and the weight=2. The ALPO/BAA weight=2.
On 1974 Feb Weith-Knudson (Copenhagen, Denmark, 12" refrlector, x72)
observed a magnitude 7.7 flash (comparison between SAO093043=mag 7,8
and SAO093052 mag=7.5 that happened to lie in the field of view at the
time) in Earthshine. The observer speculates whether this was a lunar
meteorite impact or a reflection from an artificial satellite (or
indeed as Cameron suggests from an Earth meteor?). The cameron 1978
catalog ID=1388 and weight=0. The ALPO/BAA weight=1.
Proclus NW ray 2003 Sep 02 UTC 02:20-03:35 Observed by Haas (Las
Cruces, NM, USA) "Everyone knows the bright ray running northwest from
Proclus. In this view from 2:20 to 2:36, UT on September 2 I remarked a
thin, pink southwest border to the ray. One thinks of chromatic
aberration, and the position supports this interpretation; but other
bright lunar features showed no such effect. The pink border lay 1 to
2.5 diameters away from Proclus (S=2, T=3.5). At 2:55, UT (S=1-2, S=
3.5) the border was gone; neither its appearance nor disappearance was
observed. At 03:25 UT there is no sign of the pink border (S=2, T=3),
moreover the Moon was lower, so atmospheric dispersion must be greater
by now? 12.5" Newtonian x321 at 02:20-02:36, x202 at other times.?"
Note that experiments to simulate spurious colour using Adobe Photoshop
were able to recreate colour in the correct place on the NW ray -
however there should have been colour reported on the SW ray too and
there was no mention of this, therefore the observational report is
intriguing. The ALPO/BAA weight=2.
M. Price of Camberley, UK noticed that an area in relation
to the central area of the floor could not be resolved. Averted
vision was used, but this did not help to resolve detail. The crater
was close to the terminator and was in general sharply in focus
apart from the suspect area. No spurious colour seen. Sketch
supplied.P. Foley wonders if the effect was due to the resolution
limit of Price's scope? Cameron 2006 extension catalog ID=78
and weight=2. ALPO/BAA weight=2. 6" reflector x64 and x120.
Seeing=III-IV and Transparency=good.
Theophilus 1972 May 19 UT 23:48 Theophilus observed by Ruchatz (51N
10E, 60mm refractor, T=4, S=2) "Diminution of brightness of the S wall
for a short time" - Hilbrecht and Kuveler, Earth, Moon & Planets, 30
(1984), p53-61.
On 1985 Jun 14 UT 21:16-21:40 Observed by A.C. Cook Frimley, UK,
30cm reflector, seeing IV, transparency moderate, very litle
spectral dispersion noticed - Wratter 25 and 44a filters used)
UT 21:16-21:19 Censorinus slightly brighter in red and more
detail seen. Observed other features before and after this.
Checked again UT21:31-21:40 - same appearance. Torricelli and
Torricelli B in comparison looked normal with other craters of
similar size. ALPO/BAA weight=1.
Proclus NW ray 2003 Sep 03 UTC 02:46-03:07 Observed by Haas (Las
Cruces, NM, USA) "The curious reddish edge to the conspicuous bright
ray running N2 from Proclus is seen again (x321, x366 (S=1-3, T=3.5-
2.5). It lies on the SW side of the ray, with no corresponding blue
border on its NE edge. The effect persists as the Moon drifts across
the whole eyepiece field. However at 03:46 (x202) the coloured edge is
not recognized now, but perhaps only because of worse conditions (S=3,
T=2) 12.5" Newtonian reflector used." The ALPO/BAA weight=3.
On 2010 Apr 20 some time between UT 22:00 and 23:00 I.
Bryukhanov (Minsk, Zeiss Refractor at the Minsk planetarium)
observed an orange-brown tint a little to the west of Zollner
and Kant craters. Apparently images were obtained. ALPO/BAA
weight=1.
Near archimedes 2001 Sep 25 UT 08:30 Observed by Try (Whangarei, New
Zealand, 4" f/10 reflector) "observed two possible L.T.Ps. on the edge
of the terminator near the crater Archimedes. They appeared to be two
bright points of light about the size of Mount Piton. They seem to
form a triangle with Mount Piton. He observed them for two hours and
they were still visible when he ended his observing session. He was
observing with a 4" f10 reflector. Then Moon age was 7.9 days old and
the colongitude was 4.83. submitted a drawing showing the area where
the lights were observed." ALPO report. ALPO/BAA weight=1.
Shadow of central peak barely distinguishable.
Residual wall shadow normal black. Landslip very
conspicuous, 10 deg bright. Cameron 1978 catalog
TLP ID=1040 and weight=4. Cameron 2006 Catalog
Extension ID=12 and weight=4. ALPO/BAA weight=2.
On 1978 Dec 01 at 17:00UT Christie (England?, x60 magnification) found
Snellius to be indistinct (could not locate). Cameron 2006 catalog ID=
23 and weight=1. ALPO/BAA weight=1.