The Lunar 100 Challenge
The Virtual Astronomy Club Guide to Finding All 100 Lunar Features
You are Missing Out on So Much When You Look at the Moon!
The moon has thousands of features we can look at with binoculars or a telescope, but so much choice makes it hard to know where to begin.
Even if you regularly observe the lunar surface, the chances are you're missing the best views because either you don't know what to look for, or you don't know the name of the feature you're seeing.
To help us overcome these problems, Sky & Telescope Magazine created a challenge called The Lunar 100.
This famous list of 100 lunar features ranges from easy to find to incredibly difficult. It includes craters that can only be seen with a telescope and features that are only visible now and again thanks to the moon's 'wobble'.
You may have seen the moon a thousand times or more, but you've never enjoyed it like you will do when hunting for the Lunar 100.
It feels great to have spotted all one hundred stunning features but, sadly, finding every last one is...
...Not As Easy As You Think!
The Lunar 100 is designed to be both easy to begin and incredibly challenging to complete.
If you know where to look, the first ten sites on the list can be found with good eyesight, and many more are not too tricky with just a small pair of binoculars.
However, as you move towards the 100th target, the challenges become harder.
The craters become smaller and many of the features can only be seen easily on two or three nights of the lunar cycle. To capture these, you need detailed information that makes them easier to find.
But, just when you think you have the list tamed...
We come to the real stinkers!
Items 80 onwards are a collection of diabolical quests.
Craters so small you'll need a good scope, great viewing, and a quality guide to show you the way.
Heck, some of the craters are only visible when the moon librates! This is the small wobble that shows us some of the 'dark side' of the moon now and again.
The best way to spot all 100 lunar features is with a great guide in hand!
Along with our sister site, Love the Night Sky, our mission is To Make Astronomy Accessible to Everyone.
With our complete, 3-part Lunar 100 guide, no matter if you're a complete novice or a practiced moon-watcher, you'll be finding and recording every single one of the Lunar 100 in no time at all.
If the sky is clear tonight, and you have our guide in hand, you'll have recorded your first features by the morning!
Let the Virtual Astronomy Club Help You Discover the Lunar 100
In this great value guide, you get three separate sections to help you discover each of this challenge's fiendish features:
Section 1 - Lunar 100 Maps: Using superb pictures of the moon from NASA, these charts show you in detail the location of every single one of the Lunar 100 features.
There are four whole-moon maps, covering waxing crescent, first quarter, last quarter, and waning crescent. These show the location of each object so you can see at a glance which part of the moon you need to be pointing your telescope at.
Then, to make sure you pinpoint the exact feature, there are fourteen 'zoomed-in' maps containing high levels of detail so you can see exactly the feature you need.
Whatsmore, each of the maps can be downloaded as a PDF so you can print it off at home and use it at the telescope.
See the examples below, which can be clicked on for a full-size version.
Whole moon map, click for full-screen.
Zoomed-in map, click for full-screen.
Section 2 - Lunar 100 Downloads: While a picture paints a thousand words, you'll still need extra help finding some of the trickier features on this list. That's where the downloads come in.
Four downloadable PDFs help you pinpoint and record your own observations of the items on the list.
The first download is a complete list of all 100 lunar features, including what they are, where to find them, and the best night of the moon's cycle to look for them.
The second download breaks the list into 10 separate lunar phases. Each phase covers just three days of the lunar cycle, so you can pinpoint exactly when the features you're looking for will be visible.
Next, our third download has additional details for each feature. This is especially helpful for the more fiendish items on the list when a map and short description don't do a good enough job of showing you exactly what the challenge is.
When you've decided which craters you're hunting four, our fourth PDF is designed for you to keep a record of your progress. Each night you observe one of the features, write it down in this table so you can see how well you're doing.
When you've done, you'll have a complete record you can share with astronomy club friends or refer to time and again in the future.
Section 3 - Moon Phases: The key to succeeding with the lunar 100 is to look for each object when the terminator is nearby, which is the line between the dark and lit sides of the moon's surface.
While we've broken the phases out for you already in the PDF downloads, we thought a visual aid would also help. So, in this final section, we've included 16 detailed NASA pictures of the moon showing the position of the terminator every two days.
We've also included a daily table of the same data, so you can plan in as much detail as you need when to search for those last few tricky features.
Download All Three Sections for One Low Price
The Complete Guide to the Lunar 100 is available for immediate download for just $39.
To grab your copy straight away, click the button below, enter your details and access the whole guide immediately... and keep it forever.
If tonight presents clear skies, you'll be able to make a start on your Lunar 100 voyage of discovery!