Plato

One of six sketches in crayon by James Nasmyth showing the lunar crater Plato, dated November 18th 1844.

Sketch dated 1844 by James Nasmyth (1808-1890) in crayon of the crater Plato on the Moon. Working directly from the eyepiece of his 20-inch reflecting telescope, he used his considerable artistic skill to produce this portrayal of the lunar surface. Nasmyth a successful industrialist and engineer made extensive observations of the Moon. Using his drawings he calculated the height of the lunar features by measuring the length of their shadows. He then made relief models that were photographed to produce results better than could be then achieved using direct lunar photography. Nasmyth photographed a series of these models, which were used to illustrate the book, 'The Moon' that he co-published with James Carpenter in 1871.