Items Featured In TGP NOMINAL Xtra - International Observe The Moon Night 2021
Ross Hockham BCAe:
Our very own Resident Astronomer 'Ross Hockham' has recently been a awarded a British Citizen Award for services to education for all the work he has put into UK Astronomy, the charity he founded back in 2014.
Ross is now entitled to have the initials BCAe after his name.
Ross is now entitled to have the initials BCAe after his name.
International Observe the Moon Night was created by NASA to encourage people from around across the globe, to look up.
You can join International Observe the Moon Night from wherever you are.
Attend or host a virtual or in-person event, or observe the Moon from home.
Connect with fellow lunar enthusiasts around the world through the official International Observe the Moon Night Facebook page, use the #ObserveTheMoon on your socials,
and join the International Observe the Moon Night Flickr group.
There are plenty of Activities for Moon enthusiasts, both young and old to take part in.
Our colleagues at UK Astronomy have a Facebook Group, plus a range of Activities on their website also.
On Saturday October 16th at 7:30 p.m. EDT (00:30 UTC on October 17th)
join Lunar enthusiasts around the world for International #ObserveTheMoon Night
an annual celebration of Earth's neighbour in space!
NASA's LIVE! hosts will guide you on a scientific and cultural expedition to the Moon.
Enjoy a close-up view of the Lunar surface, watch flyovers of Lunar features,
learn about their VIPER Mission to search for water ice on the Moon's South Pole,
and their plans to send humans there with the Artemis Program.
Click on the Image above to download your International Observe The Moon Night Participation Certificate.
Don't forget to Register, so that you can be incuded in the fun |
You don't need to be a professional photographer
to get your images published. TGP NOMINAL Podcast host 'Mark Taylor' had this photo published in an issue of All About Space Magazine |
Ross Hockham's October / Lunar Guide:
Uranus reaches opposition in the beginning of November
so this month is still a great time to spot the butt of all astronomy jokes.
You need a telescope to find it to the right of the Pleiades (Messier 45)
between the constellations Aries (The Ram) and Cetus (The Whale's) head.
Jupiter and Saturn are still nice in the evening skies but are not at their best, as we move away from them in orbit
But you can still see Jupiter’s Bands and Moons and Saturn’s awesome Ring System, so still worth a peek.
The now famous Rosetta Mission Comet 67p Churyumov-Gerasimenko
is said to be brightening up in the October skies as it moves towards the constellation Gemini (The Twins).
You will need a moderately sized scope and good skies to spot it but cameras may pick it up quite well.
On the 16th we invite you all to go out and look up at our nearest neighbour
Whether just using your eyes, binoculars or a telescope, the idea is to get everyone around the world to go out and look up.
On the night in the UK, the Moon is at its highest from 9pm roughly
And is nicely placed just to the left of Jupiter with Saturn lower to Jupiters right.
Whether just using your eyes, binoculars or a telescope, the idea is to get everyone around the world to go out and look up.
On the night in the UK, the Moon is at its highest from 9pm roughly
And is nicely placed just to the left of Jupiter with Saturn lower to Jupiters right.
The 21st marks the peak of the Orionids Meteor Shower
Although there will be a bright Moon up washing out a few, with an average of around 20 meteors per hour
They radiate between the Star Betelgeuse and the constellation Gemini (The Twins)
and are best seen in the earlier hours as the constellation Orion (The Hunter) rises.
At 12.30am Jupiter's Moons Callisto and IO transit the planet
but with the planet setting not long after you will really only get to see it for an hour or two
if you have a low tree or building free South-West horizon.
Although there will be a bright Moon up washing out a few, with an average of around 20 meteors per hour
They radiate between the Star Betelgeuse and the constellation Gemini (The Twins)
and are best seen in the earlier hours as the constellation Orion (The Hunter) rises.
At 12.30am Jupiter's Moons Callisto and IO transit the planet
but with the planet setting not long after you will really only get to see it for an hour or two
if you have a low tree or building free South-West horizon.
On the 25th Mercury is at its greatest western elongation this morning and starts rising around 2hrs before the Sun so is around the best time to spot the elusive planet.
The Last quarter Moon on the 28th is close to M44 (The Beehive Cluster or Praesepe)
You may be able to fit both in a pair of binoculars field of view,
It is located pretty much in the middle of the constellation Cancer (The Crab)
and is an awesome cluster of various coloured stars.
On the 29th, Venus reaches its greatest eastern elongation this evening
but isn’t its best placed setting, being about and hour and half after the Sun
So it will be low on the horizon but pop a telescope on it and you will spot it at a half phase.
On the 31st, British Summer time ends, with the clocks going back at 1am
Bringing in the colder darker nights for us astronomers, fingers crossed for a Winter of clear skies.
Naked Eye OBJECTS OF THE MONTH:
With just your eyes, see if you can make out the Moon's Mares (Pronounced Mar-Ay),
the dark patches, which mean Seas in Latin.
We now know they were more like seas of molten rock and lava that cooled into these darker plains.
As the Moon is around three quarters full you will be able to see the host of Mares on its right side
Smaller patches compared to its left, which will just be peeking out from its shadow.
The large one in the middle of these, is where the Apollo 11 Mission landed
and theres actually 3 craters named after them here, if you have a telescope.
On the left of the Moon, there is the huge Mare Imbrium
Which is the big top part that joins down through a few smaller Mares, into Mare Nubium
With four or five main Mare on its right, you may see the Crater Copernicus in the middle of this Mare
which looks like it has streams of valleys flowing out from it all around, if you pop binoculars or a telescope on it.
So why not have a go at drawing them whilst looking then look up and learning each?
Binocular OBJECTS OF THE MONTH:
Binoculars are great for observing the Moon.
You should be able to make out the Mare easily
And with a steady hand, if you look along the Terminator or shadowed part
on it's right you can see the large mountain range called Montes Appenninus
along with a host of larger craters like Tycho
which has crater rays where debris has been splashed over the moon in white lines from the impact.
Telescope Objects of the month:
If you have a telescope also, look along the shadow towards the bottom of the Mare Nubium
you may spot a long black line in the Mare's right hand side.
This is Rupes Recta, an awesome trench line with a few smaller ones also near it.
Just remember if you have a reflecting scope that uses mirrors the image will flip and reverse etc
so an app like moonglobeHD may help you navigate and find cool craters and features.
If you go to the top of the Mare Imbrium, have a peek at the Crater the called Plato
It will look awesome with the light glinting off it.
There’s also a small mountain below it that’s called Montes Teneriffe as it look like the Spanish island.
To the left of Plato, The Montes Jura should also be sticking out of the shadows
creating 'The Jewelled Handle', a cool effect as the tips are lit by the Sun.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL OBSERVE THE MOON NIGHT
and
Lets get out there Mooning together…
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