Category Archives: lunar gazing

'Casts, geodesium, international observe the moon night, Lunar exploration, lunar gazing

What Does the Moon Mean to You?

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Check out Our Lunar Neighbor

Our Moon. Courtesy NASA.

So, what DOES the Moon mean to you?  That’s the question a group of folks interested in lunar exploration are asking as they prepare for International Observe the Moon Night, which is October 8th.  The idea is to get folks interested in the Moon, either by observing it or by learning more about the science that astronomers are doing to learn about the Moon. Preferably both!  The organizing team consists of scientists, educators, and Moon enthusiasts from all walks of life, the business community, and governments around the world.

So, what’s it take to get involved? Have a moon-gazing event.  It can be as simple as  gathering in your neighborhood, a gazing session at your planetarium or science center or through your astronomy club. There are already some cool events planned, like moongazing at the Casper Planetarium in Casper, Wyoming, and observing at the South African Astronomical Observatory.  You can peruse the current list of activities here.

To get folks in interested in some of the science done on the Moon past, present and future, the Astronomical Society of the Pacific has posted a special episode of their podcast series, Astronomy Behind the Headlines, called “Science From the Moon.” It’s an interview with Dr. Jack Burns of the University of Colorado’s Lunar University Network for Astrophysics Research (LUNAR)—written, conducted and produced by yours truly for ASP (with music from Geodesium)!  The podcast was made possible by NASA’s Lunar Science Institute. So, listen in on a great conversation about lunar science, and then get out there and enjoy the Moon!

lunar gazing

Crescent Moon

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Loveliness

I’m currently driving cross-country to a new home.  It’ s a huge move; all of our stuff is on a moving van, we have us and the cats in our cars.  The scenery this time of year is gorgeously green — at least along I-80. But, what has kept my attention both nights has been the sight of a lovely crescent Moon high in the west. One of the pleasures of skywatching is to see such sights and then let the imagination wander about how cool it is that we have another world so close that we can see its curvature without needing binoculars or a telescope. If we lived on a planet without a Moon, I often wonder how long it would have taken humans to intellectually figure out that other worlds exist, and what their characteristics are?

If you get a chance, get outside and check out the Moon the next few nights. It’s lovely!!