Southern Moon and telescope trial

The heavily-cratered south-eastern area of Earth’s Moon is seen here, imaged just before midnight, June 23, 2026. Stella-Luna Observatory / James Guilford

This is the southern end of Earth’s waxing gibbous phase Moon, as imaged late Tuesday night. The heavily-cratered area along the terminator includes Crater Tycho — with a central peak lit by the rising Sun — and the dark circular expanse of Clavius, with the top of its western crater wall extending into the deep shadows of the terminator. We used the old Celestron C11 for this session as we continue to evaluate its performance and condition. We continue to be concerned about whether the telescope’s focus issue is simple collimation or some more serious combination of problems.

Not in the southern area of our Moon but certainly visible, even without a telescope, is Mare Crisium, shown at the center of this image made light night June 24, 2026. Stella-Luna Observatory / James Guilford. #2026 #astronomy #astrophotography #c11 #moon #moonjoy #telescopes