Faustini is a little crater on the south end of the moon. I did not know that until I got a message from a friend at JPL which said they were looking for people willing to image it in white light. It is part of establishing baseline data for a mission that is coming up in July.
Well, I went and took the picture, and here it is. (I cannot tell where Faustini is on this picture--it is so far south, it is on the rim itself. I think I would have to be in a spacecraft to see it from where I was.)
Alex
St-7 on Celestron 9.25 @f6.3, 18 x .25 sec, Astrodon 9mm Halpha filter (had to use narrow band filter to cut out most of the light since my camera could not expose short enough).
PS.....here is the info from my friends at JPL:
>Subject: Call for Lunar Images Supporting NASA's LCROSS
> Mission
>
>NASA Astronomer Diane Wooden is about to begin an observing session
>using the IRTF at Mauna Kea in support of next year's LCROSS lunar
>impactor mission. The phase and libration this Wednesday, Thursday,
>and Friday (October 8-10) could be a good match for those of one of
>our favored impact scenarios next year. This will provide an
>opportunity for detailed planning and observations of potential
>target lunar terrain. Diane would like to supplement her
>observations with images of the lunar south polar region acquired
>with a range of amateur telescopes over the same evenings. Diane's
>observations will be in the IR, and amateur white-light observations
>could provide valuable additional data for these lighting
>conditions. Faustini crater, one of the potential impact sites will
>be on the limb on the night of Oct 10 UT (Oct 9 PDT). Comparison of
>IRTF and amateur observations now will also help determine how
>amateur observations can best be used during the impact and provide
>valuable information to participating amateurs in planning their
>imaging procedures for next year.
>
>Images from telescopes of all sizes are welcome. If you are able to
>participate and acquire images during these selected evenings,
>please send the following information to me at
[email protected]:
>
>Name of observer
>Email address of observer
>Aperture of telescope
>Focal length of telescope
>Type of camera used
>Camera detector dimensions
>Exposure information
>Time and date of exposure
>Location from which exposure was taken
>
>Please do not send your actual image file along with this
>information! Once I receive the above information from you, I will
>contact you and work out a way to receive your file in a way that
>will not overwhelm our mail server here.
>
>
>A map of the extreme south polar region of the Moon can be found at:
>http://www.lpod.org/?m=20070512
>Note that Faustini is labeled as R3 on these maps (next to the
>crater Amundsen). The crater Cabaeus is also of interest as a
>possible impact site. Three additional images identifying south
>polar features are included in this message.
>
>NASA's LCROSS mission is scheduled to fly in 2009. It is
>co-manifested with LRO; both missions will launch together aboard an
>Atlas V out of Cape Canaveral, Fla. LCROSS will use the Centaur
>upper stage of the launch vehicle as a kinetic impactor directed at
>2.5 km/s into one of the permanently-shadowed craters at the Moon's
>pole. The LCROSS
>spacecraft will fly directly through the resulting plume of debris,
>analyzing it for signs of water ice that may have accumulated within
>the crater. The debris plume will also be studied by space-based
>assets (such as LRO, and HST), ground-based observatories, and
>amateur telescopes. Researchers believe that the LCROSS impact plume
>may well be observable in amateur telescopes, and that amateurs may
>be able to take on a valuable role in this exciting mission.
>
>Please share this information with your colleagues. I am looking
>forward to working with you as members of the amateur community
>become key participants in the LCROSS mission.
