Order by: Trending (past 30 days)Date
Community photo entitled  by Vishal Sharma on 05/25/2021 at Greater Noida Extension, Uttar Pradesh, India

On 05/25/2021 01:13 am by Vishal Sharma| Greater Noida Extension, Uttar Pradesh, India

“Lunar Swirls- Reiner Gamma Region” - Highlighted in Inset View

Lunar swirls are the bright albedo features on the lunar surface that have been linked to the presence of local magnetic fields. These Lunar swirls are actually strange markings on the Moon that resemble the cream in your coffee on a much larger scale. They seem to be curly-curves of pale moon dust, twisting and turning across the lunar surface for dozens of miles. Each swirl is utterly flat and protected by weak magnetic field.
We can even see these Lunar Swirls from backyard telescope. It is situated near the western limb of moon & on the western shores of Oceanus Procellarum. It looks very strange & irregular crater at first sight. But then NASA’s Lunar Orbiter II Spacecraft reveals that it was not a crater. In 1972, Lin and colleagues discovered that the swirls were magnetized. "It was an accidental discovery”.
Lunar swirls can be tens of miles across and appear in groups or just as an isolated feature. These Swirls looks like the bright painted surface on the moon in a wavy pattern.

Celestron 127mm Maksutov
iOptron MiniTower Mount
ZWO asi120 mc-s
ZWO IR/UV Cut Filter
Celestron 2x Barlow

Processed in RegiStax & Lightroom & color enhanced in Photoshop 2020