International Bright Lunar Rays Project
CONDUCTED BY:
The Association of Lunar & Planetary Observers
The American Lunar Society
The British Astronomical Association
The Society for Popular Astronomy of England
The Geological Lunar Research Group (Italy)
The Italian Union of Amateur Astronomers
(And other lunar observers regardless of affiliation)
PROJECT COORDINATOR:
William M. Dembowski, FRAS - dembowski@zone-vx.com
Although they are some of the most extensive features on the Moon, bright lunar rays are still among the most understudied. Therefore, the above mentioned organizations and dedicated independent observers have embarked upon a study of these beautiful and intriguing splash patterns. In addition to basic mapping of the location, size, and extent of lunar rays there are many thing yet to be learned about them. It is the aim of the project to answer the following questions:
DISTRIBUTION OF RAYS:
Do rays occur mainly in the highlands or marial areas?
Do rayed craters form any noticeable groups or clusters?
Are there indications that any of the rays emanate from the Moon’s far side?
RAY STRUCTURE:
Are the rays distributed evenly around their parent crater?
If rays emanate from a crater do they start from its center, edge, or some way
from the rim?
What is the start and end point of individual rays and ray systems?
What is the width of individual rays?
APPEARANCE OF RAYS:
How does the brightness and/or color of a ray change during the lunation?
Are there brightness and/or color differences between one ray system and another?
Does the brightness and/or color of a ray change over its length?
When do individual rays or ray systems first become visible at sunrise or are lost at sunset, including colongitude and solar altitude?
Are the rays brightest at Full Moon, when the sun is overhead at their location, or at any other time during a lunation?
Are the parent craters consistently brighter than their rays, or do any of the rays exceed the brightness of their parent?
Does the appearance of the ray change with the use of color or polarizing filters?
INTERACTION OF RAYS WITH LOCAL FEATURES:
Do rays appear to be deflected, interrupted, or obscured by surface features?
Do the rays of different systems overlap?
Is there any sign of disruption where systems overlap?
Is it possible to determine which system is younger?
When a ray is not visible, is there evidence of its presence on the lunar surface; differences in color, texture, etc.?
Are there local features which mimic rays (rilles, ridges, crater chains, etc.)?
In view of the above
objectives, it is vitally important that any observations
submitted to this project contain the following information:
Name and location
of the observer
Name of parent crater and/or location of ray
Date and time (UT) of the observation
Size and type of telescope used
Magnification (for sketches)
Effective focal length or focal ratio (for photographs and electronic images)
TO VIEW RECENT NEWS AND OBSERVATIONS
RELATED TO THE RAYS PROJECT
TO VIEW A RECENT REPORT ON THE PROJECT WHICH APPEARED
IN THE JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN LUNAR SOCIETY
OBSERVATIONS OF ANY RAY SYSTEM
ARE WELCOMED AND ENCOURAGED.
HERE ARE 35 PROMINENT RAY SYSTEMS
REQUIRING STUDY
