Explore the Moon - Albategnius

Background

The crater Albategnius can be found on directly south of Hipparchus just east of the lunar prime meridian.  It is named after the Arab astronomer, Al-Battani.  Born during the 9th century CE in what is now modern day Turkey, he spent most of his life in Raqqa, Syria.  He improved on Ptolemy's calculations from more than half a millennium ago and determined the length of the year to within 2 minutes of the currently accepted value.  Many famous astronomers, including Copernicus, referred to his work throughout the Renaissance.  Astronomy throughout the Arab world had a golden age throughout medieval times and contributed significantly to our understanding today.

Albategnius (Image Credit: NASA Lunar Orbiter 4)

Albategnius is a large crater with a diameter of 136km and a depth of 4,400m.  

Observation

My abbreviated observation record can be found below:

Date	2020-05-29
Time	23:46
Sky	Clear
Telescope	8" Reflector (1200mm F.L.)
Eyepiece	10mm (2x Barlow)
Magnification	240x

Comments

Albategnius seemed to have a strong ridge on the eastern edge that may have been higher than the other side.  There were craters noticeable within with a larger crater that breaks the rim on the southwestern edge.  This crater (Klein) had a central peak.  Albategnius itself had a central peak formation that was clearly visible.  The presence of interior craters and a flooded floor indicated to me it was fairly old.

Location

To help you locate this object a map has been provided from the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada's Observer's Handbook.  It is object #21, highlighted below.

Albategnius (Crater)

Another great view is from the Apollo 16 mission.  This is looking southward with the interior craters Albategnius B and C at the bottom and the larger Klein just off to the right of the central peak formation. The formation know as Alpha Albategnius is nearly 20km long and attains a maximum height of 1,500m.

Albategnius (Image Credit: NASA Apollo 16)