Saturday night is “International Observe the Moon Night,” or InOMN for short. Observers and lovers of the moon, like me, all around the world will be observing it and sponsoring viewing events.
As NASA writes on its InOMN webpage, “International Observe the Moon Night is upon us! Join the worldwide celebration of lunar exploration and science on Oct. 20, 2018, by observing the moon in all of its beautiful splendor. Every year since 2010, International Observe the Moon Night invites participants all over the world to come together, watch the Moon, and celebrate our nearest celestial neighbor.”
InOMN is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) with support from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Wallops Flight Facility, NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute as well as the Lunar and Planetary Institute.
In the D.C. area, there are a number of InOMN events being held. See if there is an event near you.
NASA Goddard, Baltimore Science Center, the National Air and Space Museum’s Haas Public Observatory and others are all hosting InOMN events on Saturday.
If you can’t make an event, or if the skies aren’t clear, there will be a livestreaming event featuring the historic skyline of Rome starting at 12 p.m. EDT.
On a personal note, I watched the LRO being built at NASA’s Goddard Spaceflight Center, and have kept up to speed with the mission throughout the years. LRO is currently the only active American lunar mission, and has enough fuel for another ten years of operations.
The LRO is a pathfinder for humanity’s return to the moon which all of the spacefaring nations are preparing to do.
Take a look at the moon tonight, or any night. It is beautiful, eternal and transforms the night into something magical. Be sure to look at the Full Hunter’s Moon rising in the East on October 24th.
Enjoy the moon’s night, and contemplate the vastness and splendor of the Universe in which you live and we are all a part of.
Follow me at Twitter and my daily blog to keep up with the latest news in astronomy and space exploration. You can email me at skyguyinva@gmail.com.
