Explore the Moon - Apennine Mountains

Background

The Apennine Mountains (Montes Apenninus) can be found on the southerneastern edge of Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains).  The 100km wide mountain range extends nearly 1,000km from the crater Eratosthenes running in an arc northeast to a gap between Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis (Sea of Serenity).  The tallest (base to peak) mountain on the Moon, Mons Huygens, is contained within this range and reaches 5,400m into the sky.  The Apennine Mountains formed from the impact event that created Mare Imbrium nearly 4 billion years ago.  It is interesting to note that Apollo 15 landed at the base of Mons Hadley Delta in the northeastern region of this range.

Apennine Mountains (Image Credit: NASA LRO)

Observation

My abbreviated observation record can be found below:

Date	2020-05-29
Time	23:17
Sky	Clear
Telescope	8" Reflector (1200mm F.L.)
Eyepiece	10mm (2x Barlow)
Magnification	240x

Comments

The Appenine Mountains were found south of the craters Autolycus and Archimedes.  There seemed to be a noticeable foothills region on the northern edge of the main range.  I saw two craters south of the range and later determined them to be Conon and Aratus.  As I looked southwest from Mare Serenitatis the range seemed to get thicker before again thinning out as it approached Eratosthenes.

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 F, highlighted below.

Apennine Mountains (Mountain Range)

Another great view is from the Apollo 15 mission.  This images has the moderately sized crater Conon on the far right with the bulk of the Apennines below.  The river-like feature is Rima Hadley which stretches for 80km at 2.5km wide and passes by the crater Hadley C.  The Apollo 15 mission landed just above the top (northeastern) bend of Rima Hadley.

Apennine Mountains (Image Credit: Apollo 15)