International Observe the Moon Night

Last updated
International Observe the Moon Night
FormationSeptember 18, 2010;13 years ago (2010-09-18)
Purposespace science and astronomy outreach
Region served
international
Website https://moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/

International Observe the Moon Night is an annual public outreach event sponsored by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, the Solar System Exploration Division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and other NASA and astronomical organizations that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of the Moon and its connection to planetary science and exploration. Everyone on Earth is invited to join the celebration by hosting or attending an event or participating as a lunar observer — and uniting on one day each year to look at and learn about the Moon together. First organized in 2010, there are usually over 500 events annually in over 40 countries, hosted by universities, observatories, NASA Centers, schools, museums, parks, libraries, and amateur astronomers. [1] [2] Some events are offered both in person and via internet streaming video. [3] The date is selected to enhance visibility of lunar topography. [4]

Contents

History

The event grew out of two events during the International Year of Astronomy, 2009: "We're at the Moon!", sponsored by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite teams to celebrate the arrival of the LRO and LCROSS at the Moon, and "National Observe the Moon Night" in the US. [1]

Dates:

Organizers

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon</span> Natural satellite orbiting Earth

The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It orbits at an average distance of 384400 km, about 30 times the planet's diameter. Being tidally locked, it always presents the same side to Earth. This results in the lunar month of 29.5 days matching the lunar day. Exerting gravitational force on Earth, the Moon – and to a lesser extent the Sun – are the main drivers of the tides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Near-Earth object</span> Small Solar System body whose orbit brings it close to Earth

A near-Earth object (NEO) is any small Solar System body whose orbit brings it into proximity with Earth. By convention, a Solar System body is a NEO if its closest approach to the Sun (perihelion) is less than 1.3 astronomical units (AU). If a NEO's orbit crosses the Earth's orbit, and the object is larger than 140 meters (460 ft) across, it is considered a potentially hazardous object (PHO). Most known PHOs and NEOs are asteroids, but a small fraction are comets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space exploration</span> Exploration of space, planets, and moons

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

<i>Lunokhod 1</i> First robotic Moon rover (1970)

Lunokhod 1, also known as Аппарат 8ЕЛ № 203 was the first robotic rover on the Moon and the first to freely move across the surface of an astronomical object beyond the Earth. Sent by the Soviet Union it was part of the robotic rovers Lunokhod program. The Luna 17 spacecraft carried Lunokhod 1 to the Moon in 1970. Lunokhod 0 (No.201), the previous and first attempt to land a rover, launched in February 1969 but failed to reach Earth orbit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phobos (moon)</span> Largest and innermost moon of Mars

Phobos is the innermost and larger of the two natural satellites of Mars, the other being Deimos. The two moons were discovered in 1877 by American astronomer Asaph Hall. It is named after Phobos, the Greek god of fear and panic, who is the son of Ares (Mars) and twin brother of Deimos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transient lunar phenomenon</span> Short-lived light, color, or change in appearance on the surface of the Moon

A transient lunar phenomenon (TLP) or lunar transient phenomenon (LTP) is a short-lived change in light, color or appearance on the surface of the Moon. The term was created by Patrick Moore in his co-authorship of NASA Technical Report R-277 Chronological Catalog of Reported Lunar Events, published in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Occultation</span> Occlusion of an object by another object that passes between it and the observer

An occultation is an event that occurs when one object is hidden from the observer by another object that passes between them. The term is often used in astronomy, but can also refer to any situation in which an object in the foreground blocks from view (occults) an object in the background. In this general sense, occultation applies to the visual scene observed from low-flying aircraft when foreground objects obscure distant objects dynamically, as the scene changes over time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery Program</span> Ongoing solar system exploration program by NASA

The Discovery Program is a series of Solar System exploration missions funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through its Planetary Missions Program Office. The cost of each mission is capped at a lower level than missions from NASA's New Frontiers or Flagship Programs. As a result, Discovery missions tend to be more focused on a specific scientific goal rather than serving a general purpose.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aristarchus (crater)</span> Crater on the near side of Earths Moon

Aristarchus is a lunar impact crater that lies in the northwest part of the Moon's near side. It is considered the brightest of the large formations on the lunar surface, with an albedo nearly double that of most lunar features. The feature is bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, and displays unusually bright features when viewed through a large telescope. It is also readily identified when most of the lunar surface is illuminated by earthshine. The crater is deeper than the Grand Canyon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David C. Jewitt</span> British-American astronomer (born 1958)

David Clifford Jewitt is a British-American astronomer who studies the Solar System, especially its minor bodies. He is based at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is a Member of the Institute for Geophysics and Planetary Physics, the Director of the Institute for Planets and Exoplanets, Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Professor of Astronomy in the Department of Earth, Planetary and Space Sciences. He is best known for being the first person to discover a body beyond Pluto and Charon in the Kuiper belt.

The Lunar Precursor Robotic Program (LPRP) is a NASA program that uses robotic spacecraft to prepare for future crewed missions to the Moon. The program gathers data such as lunar radiation, surface imaging, areas of scientific interest, temperature and lighting conditions, and potential resource identification.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Far side of the Moon</span> Hemisphere of the Moon that always faces away from Earth

The far side of the Moon is the lunar hemisphere that always faces away from Earth, opposite to the near side, because of synchronous rotation in the Moon's orbit. Compared to the near side, the far side's terrain is rugged, with a multitude of impact craters and relatively few flat and dark lunar maria ("seas"), giving it an appearance closer to other barren places in the Solar System such as Mercury and Callisto. It has one of the largest craters in the Solar System, the South Pole–Aitken basin. The hemisphere has sometimes been called the "dark side of the Moon", where "dark" means "unknown" instead of "lacking sunlight" – each side of the Moon experiences two weeks of sunlight while the opposite side experiences two weeks of night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moons of Mars</span> Natural satellites orbiting Mars

The two moons of Mars are Phobos and Deimos. They are irregular in shape. Both were discovered by American astronomer Asaph Hall in August 1877 and are named after the Greek mythological twin characters Phobos and Deimos who accompanied their father Ares into battle. Ares, the god of war, was known to the Romans as Mars.

Doris Daou is a Lebanese-born astronomer from Canada who was formerly the Director for Education and Public Outreach of the NASA Lunar Science Institute and the associate director of the NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), and is currently the program contact for NASA's "Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx)".

This is a timeline of space exploration which includes notable achievements, first accomplishments and milestones in humanity's exploration of outer space.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter</span> NASA robotic spacecraft orbiting the Moon

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) is a NASA robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon in an eccentric polar mapping orbit. Data collected by LRO have been described as essential for planning NASA's future human and robotic missions to the Moon. Its detailed mapping program is identifying safe landing sites, locating potential resources on the Moon, characterizing the radiation environment, and demonstrating new technologies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Discovery and exploration of the Solar System</span>

Discovery and exploration of the Solar System is observation, visitation, and increase in knowledge and understanding of Earth's "cosmic neighborhood". This includes the Sun, Earth and the Moon, the major planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, their satellites, as well as smaller bodies including comets, asteroids, and dust.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Mars observation</span> History of observations of the planet Mars

The history of Mars observation is about the recorded history of observation of the planet Mars. Some of the early records of Mars' observation date back to the era of the ancient Egyptian astronomers in the 2nd millennium BCE. Chinese records about the motions of Mars appeared before the founding of the Zhou dynasty. Detailed observations of the position of Mars were made by Babylonian astronomers who developed arithmetic techniques to predict the future position of the planet. The ancient Greek philosophers and Hellenistic astronomers developed a geocentric model to explain the planet's motions. Measurements of Mars' angular diameter can be found in ancient Greek and Indian texts. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus proposed a heliocentric model for the Solar System in which the planets follow circular orbits about the Sun. This was revised by Johannes Kepler, yielding an elliptic orbit for Mars that more accurately fitted the observational data.

<span class="nowrap">(163348) 2002 NN<sub>4</sub></span>

(163348) 2002 NN4 (prov. designation:2002 NN4) is a dark, sub-kilometer near-Earth object and potentially hazardous asteroid of the Aten group that flew by Earth on 6 June 2020. The highly elongated X-type asteroid has a rotation period of 14.5 hours and measures approximately 0.7 kilometers (0.4 miles) in diameter. It was discovered by LINEAR at the Lincoln Laboratory's Experimental Test Site in New Mexico on 9 July 2002.

References

  1. 1 2 "Global Swoon Over the Moon Set For Saturday". 2010-09-16. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  2. "How to Observe the Moon Saturday Night". Fox News. 18 September 2010.
  3. "Astronomers stream lunar views on internet". CBC. 18 Sep 2010.
  4. "'Observe the Moon Night' with rest of the planet on Saturday!". One India.
  5. "International Observe the Moon Night Rises Tonight" . Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  6. "Telescopes, events mark Observe the Moon Night Oct. 12". 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  7. "A Worldwide Night of Moonwatching - Sky & Telescope". 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2016-09-09.
  8. "It's 'International Observe the Moon Night' tonight. Here's how to participate" . Retrieved 2023-10-22.