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International
Year of Astronomy
Observe the Moon Night
Aug 1, 2009
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Lunar CRater Observation and Sensing
Satellite (LCROSS) |
Photo credit: NASA Ames Research Center / Eric James |
By all accounts, Observe the Moon Night at
NASA's Ames Research Center on Aug. 1, 2009 was a success, despite
the early arrival of fog. A lively and enthusiastic gathering
of nearly 500 people assembled for a chance to look at the moon.
Waiting for them were dozens of local amateur astronomers with
telescopes of various sizes and capabilities, eager to share
their love of backyard astronomy.
The visitors, many of whom were children, waited patiently
in line at the various telescopes to get a glimpse of the moon
though the increasing cloud cover.
"Wow, look Mom, we haven't seen this
part of the moon before…so
many craters!,"
said a young girl at the telescope of local astronomer, Jim
Varney. She followed with the question, "What are all of those
lines?" Varney looked through the telescope and confirmed that
she was looking at features called rilles.
These are long, narrow depressions in the lunar surface that
resemble channels. |
As the cloud cover increasingly obscured the view of the moon, some of
the astronomers pointed their telescopes at terrestrial features. One
favorite was the rotating light atop the historic Hangar One near the
end of the plaza. The lack of the moon viewing also sparked small discussions
as the astronomers began preparing to pack their telescopes.
Waves of people made their way to the information tables for the Lunar
CRater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) and Kepler missions
and the NASA
Lunar Science Institute (NLSI). The visitors were eager to get
the latest about NASA and asked about other events that they and
their children could attend for this type of science experience.
During the year 2009, the world is celebrating the International
Year of Astronomy (IYA) as it commemorates the 400th anniversary
of Galileo’s
use of a telescope to study the skies. Observe
the Moon Night at
NASA Ames Research Center was sponsored by the LCROSS mission and the
NLSI to celebrate this occasion. The LCROSS spacecraft successfully
launched with the Lunar
Reconnaissance Obiter from Cape
Canaveral, Fla., on June 18, 2009. LCROSS will impact a permanently
shadowed crater on the lunar south pole on Oct. 9, 2009 in search of
water-ice. The NLSI supplements and extends existing NASA lunar science
programs and is supported by the NASA Science Mission Directorate and
the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.
Despite the early roll-in of the fog and overcast skies, the visitors
to Observe the Moon Night left happy and many planned
on coming back in October for the LCROSS impacts.
"It was fun looking at the moon," said eight-year old Rolle. "We'll
be back when the rocket crashes into the moon."
Visit the NASA Mission Site @ http://www.nasa.gov/lcross
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