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Lunar Topography Lab
Lunar Topography Lab
Lunar Topography Lab
Abstract
In this lab we are using observations of lunar craters and their shadows to determine
Introduction
The purpose of this lab is to use ground based observations of the Moon to calculate
real measurements of the topography of the lunar surface. This will be done by using a
known star field to find a ratio between the angular distance between objects in the sky
and their distance in pixels in the images taken by the telescope, giving a plate scale in
degrees per pixel. We then use that plate scale to find the angular distances of objects
on the lunar surface then apply the small angle formula, which states that linear
distance is equal to the angular distance times the distance to the object, divided by 360
degrees (or 206265 arcseconds), to find distances on the surface in terms of meters.
We can also measure shadows in this same fashion to find the height of objects on the
Procedure
The first step in this lab, before using our lunar observations, was to determine the plate
scale of our telescope. This was done by taking an image of a known starfield
surrounding Altair. Using Stellarium we found the stars in our image to find their right
ascension and declination, from which we were able to determine their angular distance
from each other. We then focused on our image we had taken and determined the
distance, in pixels, between the stars. By comparing these two measurements we were
able to compute the plate scale of the telescope in degrees per pixel.
After determining the plate scale of the telescope we took images of the lunar surface.
We then took those images and selected a sample of craters to measure. We then
measured the diameter of the craters, their distances from the terminator, and the
length of the shadow being cast inside the crater, which will be used to find the depth.
Data Analysis
The first step in analyzing the data is to find the plate scale of the telescope. This was
done by taking an image of a group of stars with known locations in the sky. From those
locations we could simply use the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the distance
between each star. Then we divided that known distance by the distance in pixels
calculated to be 2 x 10-4.
This plate scale could then be applied to our lunar observations. The first step was to
find the diameter of the crater in kilometers. This was done by first applying the plate
52 pixels 0.0002 degrees/pixel = 0.0104 degrees ). This degree measurement was then
order to do this, we first had to know the angle at which the Sun struck the crater. To do
this we used a ratio that stated that the angle of the Sun over the distance of the crater
from the terminator (determined in the same way as the diameter of the crater) was
equal to 360 degrees over the diameter of the Sun. This allowed us to find the angle,
which was then equal to the distance to the terminator times 360 degrees, divided by
angle, the length of the craters shadow (calculated, again, in the same way as the
craters diameter), and the trigonometric function of tangent to find the height of the
Error Analysis
There was error in all of the measurements taken, including the length of shadows,
diameter of the craters, and the distances of the stars in the standard star field, which
propagated into the measurements on the lunar surface. There was also error that was
unaccounted for in the data as we took only one measurement of the distance to the
Conclusion
The ideal time to take observations for this lab is during a first quarter moon so that the
Sun is low in the moons sky, creating longer shadows that are easy to see and
measure from here on Earth. It was found there was some direct correlation between
diameter and depth of craters, aside from the first two craters, which I noticed even as I
was observing them that they had abnormal shadows. It is also possible that some
inaccuracy came due to the fact that there was error in all of my measurements taken,
including the length of shadows, diameter of the craters, and the distances of the stars
in the standard star field, which propagated into my measurements on the lunar surface