Move mouse over image to view labels. Lettered craters are Clavius labels, unless otherwise noted.
Observation Notes:
The craterlet pattern in this larger crater is amazing. The floor of Clavius was smooth overall and shaded nicely from light to dark in the setting sunlight. A number of ravines ran north from Rutherfurd crater. Crater Clavius CB sat astride what appeared to be a smooth mound or dome. Besides Rutherfurd and Porter Craters, I spotted at least 32 craters on the floor of Clavius. The smallest was just east of Clavius N that turned out to be 3 km (2 miles) in diameter. I should note that I sketched Clavius JA about 2 times larger than I should have. It was actually smaller than Clavius J…I noticed that as I worked on the sketch, but didn’t get around to correcting it.
I had good success sketching this on gray 110# index paper. It blends very nicely. I tried using a white pencil to shade in the brightest regions of the crater rims, but it didn’t work well at all. So after scanning, I went back to those sections and used the dodge/burn tool to lighten the white-pencil regions further to get the effect I was after. I think I’m really going to have to try the white on black sketching technique demonstrated by Rich Handy.
EDIT SEP 03, 2009: Note that I have corrected the spelling of “Rutherford” to “Rutherfurd”. The previous spelling was incorrect and is assigned to a crater on the far side of the moon. Apologies for the erroneous spelling. (jpp)
Factoids:
Clavius crater is the 3rd largest crater on the earth-facing side of the moon, and was originally formed very early in the history of the moon, during the Nectarian period about 4 billion years ago. It is most famous for its arc of craterlets that splay across its floor in order of descending size.
| Subject | Clavius Crater |
| Classification | Crater |
| Position | South Central |
| Phase/Age | 23 days old |
| Size* | 225 km diameter, 3500 m deep |
| Date/Time | August 27, 2005 – 3:00 AM (August 27, 2005 – 10:00 UT) |
| Observing Loc. | Flagstaff, AZ – Home |
| Instrument | Orion SVP 6LT Reflector (150 mm dia./1200 mm F/L) |
| Eyepieces/Mag. | 10 mm + 2X Barlow (240X) |
| Conditions | Clear, calm, 47°F |
| Seeing | Ant. III |
| Sources | The Moon Observer’s Guide By Peter Grego Wickepedia |
* Based on published data.
Your Clavius sketch is amazing…very crisp and beautifully done! Great site you have here, too!
I am making a DVD on beginning chemistry. On the section on Rutherford I make mention of his crater on the moon. I am not an astronomer by clearly, the article on Rutherford’s crater in Wikipedia was mistaken. (It said it was in the Mendeleev plain and on the far-side of the moon. I corrected that but could go no further)
It really needs someone who knows what they are talking about. Would you please take a look at it and make s few minor comments that correct the article.
Thank you.
Wes
Wes, thanks very much for your comment. I must apologize, it appears that I named the crater incorrectly, and didn’t realize it until researching your comment. There is indeed a crater “Rutherford” on the far side of the moon. The crater I have drawn here within Clavius is actually spelled “Rutherfurd“. So the information that was originally at that Wikipedia page appears to have been correct. I am not registered with Wikipedia, so I can’t remove the edits there as far as I know.
Very best wishes on your DVD, and apologies for the erroneous spelling.
Jeremy