What is Lunar X?

Ron Bee photo of Lunar X from 2007.

Lunar X is a famous optical feature on the moon, visible through telescopes. When the terminator – or line between light and dark on the moon – is located in just the right place, it appears as the letter X on the moon’s surface. A sign of an alien visitation? No. Lunar X is a great example of how lighting and topography can combine on a planet or moon to produce a pattern that seems familiar to the human eye. In reality, the illusion of Lunar X is created by sunlight falling on the rims/ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach.

In the case of Lunar X, the pattern repeats at each cycle of the moon, but only for a short time. The X is observable for about 4 hours around the first quarter moon phase.

Aniruddha Bhat in Maryland caught this Lunar X on January 16, 2016.

Bottom line: Lunar X is an optical feature on the moon, an apparent X on the moon’s surface, visible through telescopes. It’s caused by sunlight falling on the rims/ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1KJBSX8

Ron Bee photo of Lunar X from 2007.

Lunar X is a famous optical feature on the moon, visible through telescopes. When the terminator – or line between light and dark on the moon – is located in just the right place, it appears as the letter X on the moon’s surface. A sign of an alien visitation? No. Lunar X is a great example of how lighting and topography can combine on a planet or moon to produce a pattern that seems familiar to the human eye. In reality, the illusion of Lunar X is created by sunlight falling on the rims/ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach.

In the case of Lunar X, the pattern repeats at each cycle of the moon, but only for a short time. The X is observable for about 4 hours around the first quarter moon phase.

Aniruddha Bhat in Maryland caught this Lunar X on January 16, 2016.

Bottom line: Lunar X is an optical feature on the moon, an apparent X on the moon’s surface, visible through telescopes. It’s caused by sunlight falling on the rims/ridges between the craters La Caille, Blanchinus, and Purbach.

from EarthSky http://ift.tt/1KJBSX8