Saturday is International Observe the Moon Night 🌙
When the moon hits your eye on Oct.1 (like a big pizza pie), that’s International Observe the Moon Night. Observatories, science centers, astronomy clubs and enthusiasts around the world will set up their telescopes and share close-up views of our nearest neighbor in space: the moon.
This annual astronomical celebration takes place near the first quarter moon in September or October. That is the moon phase that looks best in a telescope and is visible after sunset. Most people have never looked through a telescope, and seeing the craters, mountains and valleys of the moon is a mind-blowing experience. And it doesn’t take big expensive equipment to see features on the lunar surface (although you may see some amateur astronomers sporting some big and expensive equipment).
Where's a good place to view the moon in the Queen City? Try the Cincinnati Observatory
The Cincinnati Observatory will be hosting an event to celebrate the occasion. Weather permitting, observatory members will fire up the telescopes and let you zoom into craters and see the lunar surface with your own eye. Advance tickets: $12, $7 children (ages 3-17). Day-of tickets: $15, $10 children. Registration is highly recommended: cincinnatiobservatory.org.
For a list of all the International Observe the Moon Night events, visit moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night.
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Dean Regas is the Astronomer for the Cincinnati Observatory, and author of the books "100 Things to See in the Night Sky" and "How to Teach Grown-Ups About Pluto." He can be reached at dean@cincinnatiobservatory.org.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: International Observe the Moon Night is Saturday, Oct. 1
