We all do it, all year long. In fact, it’s the one thing we can do no matter how light-polluted our skies. We can even do it in sunlit skies! This year, NASA EPO teams and their partners encourage us all to look at the moon together on Saturday, September 18, as they inaugurate the first-ever International Observe the Moon Night!
This international event includes local Moon observing parties, various NASA webcasts and online chats, a Moon photo contest (get your images submitted now!) and even International Observe the Moon Night gear, like t-shirts and canvas bags!
The local events range from formal planetarium presentations to individuals sharing their telescopes on the sidewalk. I encouraged my local planetarium to host an informal observing event in their parking lot. We’ll set-up several telescopes, hand out Moon Maps and Fun Facts sheets, give away NASA prints and posters and a few astronomy books, and share some real-time imaging. I’ve even enlisted my children’s participation in posting event flyers around town!
The webcasts and online chats are equally wide-ranging, from NASA and MyMoon videocasts leading up to the main event, to individual online viewing opportunities on September 18. Mike White practiced his setup from New Zealand last week, and Kate Kay ran a couple of preliminary sessions from the U.K., this past weekend.
There’s also a Moon photo contest, running from August 24 to September 23. Categories include Landscape, Wide-Angle, and Narrow-Angle, and the judging process includes online voting! I’ve submitted two entries, “Smallest” Moon and Palm Moon, to get involved and encourage others to participate.
*FUN FACT – The oldest surviving Moon photo is Samuel D. Humphrey’s daguerreotype, taken from Canandaigua, NY, on September 1, 1849.
Not least of all, there is the InOMN gear, because we all love sharing our passion for the night sky. The InOMN folks have set-up a Cafe Press shop for t-shirts, mugs, totes, and even something special for “man’s best friend.” Watch for InOMN stickers on the main site – perfect for your own InOMN10 event or encouraging friends and community to get involved.
Twitter-users can follow InOMN and MyMoonLPI to receive their latest announcements. You can also follow the #InOMN conversation to connect with participants from around the world and to share your own experiences.
So, go on – explore the InOMN website and make some plans for your own participation on September 18! You can also check-out the Astronomers Without Borders website for more fun InOMN activities, including a lunar poetry contest and their new Moon and Culture project.
