Just searching through files on my laptop and I came across this picture again:
The prominence of the crater right on the terminator – I am a bit rusty at this these days but I’d guess Maginus, with Clavius below – is such that I’d suggest that humans with good eyesight must be able to see craters – it looks to be about half the size of the Mare Crisium, which even those with dismal eyesight (such as me) can see without difficulty.
But that again raises some questions:
- Why did nobody report the existence of craters before the invention of the telescope?
- Why did religious zealots suggest that astronomical bodies were smooth and perfect? (After all the Earth is neither and we can all see the Moon is blotchy)
- Why did no one even seek to map the Moon before telescopes were invented?
Related articles
- The South Rim of Aristarchus (universetoday.com)
- Pristine moon crater may unlock impacts’ secrets (cbsnews.com)
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