Star Log 2022-12-04 Evening (Fairbanks, AK, US)

Yesterday evening the sky was mostly clear, but the temperature was still reasonably warm at +9 °F (-13 °C). This would have made for a comfortable stargazing evening, but I had a conflict with a family event. I got home too late to go out to the boat launch (it was a work night) but I decided to go out into the yard for a few minutes to do some moon-gazing. I had a good time observing the moon for about 30 minutes with the 60mm refractor, mainly using the Plossl 12.5mm eyepiece.

I tried swapping the neodymium filter on and off, and I found that it does improve my view of the moon, making the moon appear a little whiter with more clarity. With the filter off, the moon seems to have a more muddy, brownish appearance. So, I think I'll use that filter for all my moon-gazing. It doesn't seem like it helps at all with light pollution, which was my original motivation. I think maybe filters don't help with light pollution in Fairbanks, as we appear to be using newer street lamp bulbs which have a broader white spectrum, rather than the older sodium-vapor or other bulbs that would have had a more narrow spectrum output. Anyway, now I have found a fairly-convenient spot nearby to do stargazing away from the light pollution.

I've found that it is not practical for me to try sketching the moon. But I am learning the surface details by trying to finding memorable patterns in the arrangement of the craters, ridges, and such like. For example, in the image below, you can see some of the oceans on the west side make a letter A shape if you squint a bit. And at the south-east edge there is that interesting crater that looks like the navel of an orange.

Stellarium Screenshot of Moon