Tycho Crater

The crater Tycho is one of the most prominebt features of the full Moon. It is 85 kilometers in diameter, and is the youngest large impact crater on the Moon's nearside.
Ejecta from this crater was spread across much of the nearside of the Moon and is visible in the form of bright rays at full Moon. One such ray crosses the Apollo 17 landing site, 2000 kilometers from Tycho. The impact of this material from Tycho is believed to have triggered a landslide from the mountains surrounding the Apollo 17 landing site.
Laboratory analysis of samples from this landslide has suggested that Tycho was formed about 100 million years ago.

Technical details

OPTICS10" Newtonian f/5.2, Meade 3x Barlow lens
MOUNTLosmandy G11 equatorial
CAMERAPhilips ToUCam Pro SC1 webcam
FILTERSMeade OIII
EXPOSURE350 x 1/50th s
DATE/TIME14/10/2005 12:46 UTC
LOCATIONMy backyard observatory in west Auckland, New Zealand

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