The three top sights to observe or image this month
the cluster’s outer stars from 01:20 UT. From around 01:50 UT it should be possible to see stars reappearing from behind the Moon’s dark limb, with the occultation ending around 03:00 UT. If you find yourself struggling with the brightness of the illuminated portion of the Moon, try < Tricks of the light: look out for this month’s clair-obscur effects, caused by sunlight on the Moon’s surface
framing for reappearances only, positioning your telescope so only the dark, night-side portion of the Moon is in the field of view.
A number of interesting clair-obscur events also take place this month, some of which are less common than the usual fare. In the early hours of 8 November, it should be possible to see the Lunar 2 – a thin, casually written ‘2’ formed by sunlight on the rims of craters Deluc and Deluc D
– at 02:45 UT (co-longitude 182.0˚).
Then on the night of 8/9 November, two crosses should be visible. The first is known as the Tycho Cross and is formed by features in the vicinity of the western ring of Tycho, near moonrise at 22:45 UT (co-longitude 192.2˚). Later, the Curtiss Cross forms as the Sun sets over the
Fra Mauro Zeta ridge complex, 90km northeast of Fra Mauro’s centre at 01:00 UT (co-longitude 193.3˚). On the 22nd, just after 22:00 UT (co-longitude 2˚), look for the Face in Abategnius: use a high magnification on crater Albategnius, where you should be able to see the shadow of the crater’s eastern rim on its floor. See if you can make out the profile of a face there.
Finally, an easy clair-obscur is visible on 26 November. Look at the Bay of Rainbows or Sinus Iridum, located on the northwest shore of Mare Imbrium. The southern end of the Jura mountains peters out here in the Promontorium Heraclides. At 20:40 UT (co-longitude 50.0˚) an inverted scope view of this feature should reveal the profile of a girl with billowing hair; this is Cassini’s Moon Maiden.