March 26, 2011 #124 - Walking the Lunar Surface Again

Last night I was walking around on the lunar surface again. I was having fun looking at the LROC Zoom NAC M113168034R to locate the natural lunar bridge formed by a collapsed lava tube, which left an unbroken span still in place. This formed a bridge over what was once a flowing river of melted lunar crust. In the search through the zoom for the feature I noticed something interesting in a crater near the photos top. Attached are some screen captures. One showing the overall location, so that the crater can be found. I marked on a second copy the point of interest, and the third a 200% enlargement. The curved shadow is what caught my eye as it seems to point to an above surface projection extending from an apparent square shaped base. I understand that to the untrained eye things are not always what they seem, but it is fun to find this in the data. Take a lunar stroll and look for yourself! Hope you have some fun with this and let me know what you think.

http://wms.lroc.asu.edu/lroc_browse/view/M113168034R

Clear Sky - Rich

March 19, 2011 #123 – East Texas the "Piney Woods"

It amazes me how life plunges on without us being aware. Then "Father Time" smacks you occasionally. I was out admiring the beautiful moon last night as it rose out of a tall east Texas pine and that was one of those reality checks. My mind was recalling the moon rises watched on our journey around America. The native Americans counted time by her monthly passage through the heavens. I find that in our travels I have forsaken the clock and calender and have returned to marking time this way. The days are too short and many pass without registering on our minds. There is trouble recalling what day it is. I remember that in my early youth I lived much like those early Americans with regards to time and now have returned to that place in my mind.

When I look at my blog I see that I have not written an entry in two and a half moons. In that interval we have traveled from "The Panhandle" down through central Texas as far south as San Antonio to live for a time in the "Hill Country", then east to the "Big Thicket". Each region is unique and fascinating to a boy from Indiana. Life is so short and there is so much to see and experience in the natural world we are journeying through. I sometimes feel a sadness at missing things but then an elation at what I have experienced and observed.

A week ago I saw Canopus above the southern horizon. Orion was high in the sky not like I'm accustomed to. As I looked at the star atlas I could see that the Magellanic Clouds were just bellow the horizon.  How I would love to see those misty apparitions!

The world news has been very sad for a while, but I still find things to lift my spirits. In our quest to understand the Universe we have discovered many new worlds revolving around far suns, we have entered orbit around Mercury, we have passed the orbit of  Uranus on our journey to explore Pluto, we continue to travel the surface of Mars, and stunning views return from the orbit of Saturn. Many new sights still remain to be seen in the future from probes traveling to far destinations and tonight another full moon will have passed. Our personal travels of discovery also continue.

Clear Sky - Rich