Since ten years I observe, draw and photograph the Earth’s only natural satellite, the Moon. This has resulted in many pictures and drawings. The making of this book was in a certain way a necessity to get some order in this archive of lunar material. This is done in the first part of the book. It is a collection of my best pictures and drawings arranged according to the Moon’s phase. There are no explanations about what is seen on the pictures or about the Moon’s geology because many other excellent books (see bibliography) provide this. It is no more (but also no less) than an amateur’s portfolio of lunar drawings and images. All those pictures and drawings were made at the author’s backyard (Brugge, Belgium) or in the nearby Beisbroek Public Observatory.

But because the excellent equipment an amateur can afford nowadays and because of the digital revolution in imaging techniques, more can be done with the observations than simply collecting them in maps. The aim of the second part of the book is to illustrate this briefly. It can be simple but interesting projects like photographing the phases of Moon, imaging its monthly changes or studying the libration zones (Mare Orientale is given as an example). Excellent international programmes like the Bright Lunar Ray Project for the study of lunar rays (Clavius, Mädler and Copernics are given as an example), and the Selected Area Programme, studying the view of selected lunar formations throughout the lunar day also exist. Recently the Lunar Dome Survey was brought to life again (for instance Mons Rümker). Digital imaging techniques allow even the analyses of the colour of structures bringing this in relation with its geology. These projects, among others, show that lunar science is alive as never before and that amateurs, even with modest equipment, can make valuable observations of our ever interesting celestial neighbour.