spiked sunspots

 unusual spiked sun spots saturday morning ;)

spiked sunspots 2/5/2022 15:55 UTC

according to google they are spiked seed capsules from the gum tree.  if you look closely, there are a few real sun spots, also a prominence at the bottom edge blocked by branches.  here's the prominence a few minutes later:

solar prominence 2/5/22 16:00 UTC

the over exposed central portion has been digitally occluded.  unfortunately shorter exposures to capture detail on the face did not come out well. 

spoiler--annotated true sun spots and prom (click for full size):

Image details:
Ha Lunt 60 PT double stacked
zwo ASI 174MM
manual tracking on alt-azm mount
spiky spots are single frame captures

prominence: 
20 sec capture
FPS (avg.)~48
Shutter~2.283 ms
Gain=234 
East Bluff, CA
2/5/22 15:54-16:00 UTC

lunar lines: Rima Ariadaeus

a long straight trough on the moon is called a rille (german for groove). just to confuse, "rima" the latin term for crack or fissure  is used when naming these objects.  

Rima Ariadaeus is thought to have been formed when a section of the Moon's crust sank down between two parallel fault lines (click image for wider view):

Rima Ariadaeus
9/13/2021 03:02 UTC

Objects on the terminator (day/night line on the moon) are contrast enhanced by shadows from low angled light--a bit too much in this image as the bottom portion of the line is lost in shadow.  

next up is the crater posodinius:

Posodinius
9/13/2021 02:59 UTC

the secondary rim (top) is apparently not another crater, rather the floor of the crater is fractured and tilted, creating a 1 km drop. also, you'll notice a faint rille crossing from center to upper right.  the crater was not near the terminator during this capture, so the contrast is poor. might revisit while closer to the terminator to capture the rille.

references:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rima_Ariadaeu03

http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/796

Image details:

camera ZWO ASI 290MM 

filters: ZWO IR pass 850 

(seeing was mediocre with the 850 filter clearly sharper than a Baader IR pass "685")

celestron 11" Edge HD, no barlow

East Bluff, CA

9/13/21 02:59-03:02 UTC

moon waxing crescent 6.6 day old

FPS (avg.)=73

Shutter=12ms

Gain=251 (41%)

still more great lunacy: theophilus and friends, ghost crater

also seen in the wider image in the previous post is this trio of craters:

Theophilus, Cyrillus and Catharina craters
 9/13/2021 02:54 UTC 

the age of these craters increases from left to right (north to south):
theophilus (left) has steep sharp terraced walls and a steep triple peaked central mountain.  

cryillus (center) has more rounded walls, with the northern interrupted by theophilus.  the central peak is also rounded and less prominent.  

catharina (right) has low rounded edges with no terracing and multiple craters interrupting/obscuring the rim.  nothing remains of the central peak.  

Lastly, can you find the "ghost crater" in this wider view (click for full size)?

ghost crater daguerre upper left
(straight up from theophilus)
almost entirely covered by lava
 9/13/2021 02:54 UTC 

ghost crater daguerre
almost entirely covered by lava
 9/13/2021 02:54 UTC 

references:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theophilus_(crater)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillus_(crater)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharina_(crater)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daguerre_(crater)

Image details:
camera ZWO ASI 290MM 
filters: ZWO IR pass 850 
(seeing was mediocre with the 850 filter clearly sharper than a Baader IR pass "685")
celestron 11" Edge HD, no barlow
East Bluff, CA
9/13/21 02:43-03:02 UTC
moon waxing crescent 6.6 day old
FPS (avg.)=73
Shutter=12ms
Gain=251 (41%)