International Observe the Moon Night 2017 Is Tonight! How to Celebrate

[Judi Lynn]

By Elizabeth Howell, Space.com Contributor | October 28, 2017 07:00am ET

It's time to celebrate the moon's importance in astronomy. Tonight (Oct. 28), institutions worldwide will take part in International Observe the Moon Night, when they will discuss the importance of the moon in everything from eclipses to tides to astronomical observations.

The most important part of the night is simply the act of observing, particularly if you've never looked at the night sky or used a telescope before, said Noah Petro, the deputy project scientist for NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). Petro will be at an event hosted by NASA at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

"We have a number of opportunities for people to see what's up in the night sky," he said in an interview. "It's very exciting, especially if somebody doesn't do it normally." NASA's Goddard event will also include opportunities to meet scientists, as well as several activities, exhibits and visualizations. [The Moon: 10 Surprising Lunar Facts]

In Italy, astrophysicist Gianluca Masi will host a free webcast at 1 p.m. EDT (1700 GMT) at the Virtual Telescope Project. You can watch that webcast here.

More:
https://www.space.com/38574-international-observe-the-moon-night.html?utm_source=notification

[Control-Z]

1. It's a pretty straight down the middle half moon tonight.

Not sure if that means anything. Still cool!

[flotsam]

2. If it involves...

a mirror and bending over, I'm out!

[jberryhill]

3. No, thats on look at Uranus night