Thank YOU for Following My Moon Certificate Blog!!! Over 200 Visitors!!!

I'd like to thank everyone for following along while I finished my Astronomical League's Lunar Certificate using the Naked Eye, Binoculars, and Telescope.  You kept me on track so I could finish this.  It also helps other people to get interested and to have a guide to help them bring their grandchildren along during the process.  What a reward that is!

Observation Ten-Craters with a Telescope 15 Day Old BLOOD Moon-Total Eclipse, April 15, 2014

The Grand Finale for my lunar certificate this morning was observing the "Blood" Moon, Total Lunar Eclipse at 2 am on April 15, 2014!!!

Total Eclipse of the Moon with Sky & Telescope Magazine

A total eclipse of the moon, 2 am, St. Louis, MO., April 15, 2014.

I was out there with my camera and this moon was taken at 11 pm.  We had clear skies in Illinois (near St. Louis, MO) but it was cold and windy, about 34 degrees.  It was really cool to see.  

I did get out to watch some of the "blood" moon total eclipse early this morning.
Here is my photo of the moon an hour before the eclipse started. Once the moon took on it's color, it was too cold and windy to adjust the aperture on my camera. It was beautiful to watch the moon last night! FB says there is no face to tag in the photo. What do they know?!

This is my photo with a Fuji S700, Manual settings, F13.6, Aperture 160 (full moon), ISO 100 and adjust auto focus to your liking-Off if you can manually focus, I had to use Continuous focus and Photometry on Spot. That's just what I did. I did not use a telescope, I used the camera with Digital High Definition 2.0X Super Telephoto Lens attached. None of which is recommended for the camera. My first attempt since the moon was so close.  Not bad for one shot and a little PhotoShop to Crop and Unsharp Mask for detail.

Shichard

Schickard is a lunar impact crater called a walled plain. It lies in the southwest sector of the Moon.  Schickard has a worn rim that is overlain in several locations by smaller impact craters. The most prominent of these is the irregular Schickard E across the southeastern rim. The floor of Schickard has been partially flooded by lava, leaving only the southwest portion uncovered and rough-textured.  There are also multiple small crater impacts on the floor, most notably in the southeast.

Here is a nice chart of the 29 Days of the Moon with Images.
15 Days old -- Full Moon

Schickard 

Reiner Gamma

This is the last lunar observation needed for the certificate. Astronomical League's Lunar Program.

Check out the Blue Moon

Observation Nine-Craters with a Telescope 10 Day Old Moon April 9, 2014

Billy

Billy is an ancient impact crater, 46 kilometres in diameter, with a rim rising to 1300 metres above its flat floor. The floor of Billy has been flooded by basaltic lava with a low albedo, meaning it leaves a dark surface.

10 Days old -- waxing gibbous

Davy

Pitatus

Billy
Fra Mauro
Clavius craterlets
Hippalus
Herschel, J.

Observation Eight-Craters with a Telescope 9 Day Old Moon April 8, 2014

Observation Eight-Craters with a Telescope 9 Day Old Moon April 8, 2014

The feature we now call Cassini's Bright Spot is a very prominent feature that does not require sophisticated instrumentation to observe.

The Moon is waxing from new Moon to full Moon and the Moon is waning from full 
Bonus: The Moon is waxing from new Moon to full Moon and the Moon is waning from full Moon to new Moon.

9 Days old -- waxing gibbous

Plinius

Mitchell
Cassini A
Manilius
Gemma Frisius