It is a Moon in the first quarter, the protagonist of the
International Observe the Moon Night
, the international initiative of October 1st, promoted by NASA in 2010 to promote the telescope observation of our natural satellite.
There are almost 2,000 events scheduled in the world and dozens of appointments throughout Italy, organized by the National Institute of Astrophysics (Inaf) and the Italian Astrofili Union (Uai).
Dozens of observation evenings dedicated to the Moon, from Trieste, Bergamo and Ravenna to Rome, Benevento and Syracuse.
You can admire the Moon or the naked eye, with binoculars or a small telescope, or online, with the live broadcast organized by the Virtual Telescope.
To celebrate the Night of the Moon there is the spectacular photo chosen by NASA as
Apod (Astronomy Picture of the Day)
, astronomical photo of the day, is the Sicilian Dario Giannobile, who photographed an imposing full moon with reddish hues that dominates the deep blue sky over the town of Castiglione di Sicilia.
However, that of October 1st is a very different Moon.
It is in fact a Moon in the first quarter, that is, only half lit because the ideal lines that join the Earth, Moon and Sun form a right angle.
A condition, this, that "offers excellent opportunities for observation along the terminator", say the UAA amateurs referring to the dividing line between the dark area and the one illuminated by the Sun, as the shadows allow you to better observe the lunar surface dotted with craters.
Simulation of the appearance of the Moon at 9.00 pm on October 1, 2022 (source: UAI, from a photo by NASA)
To increase the fascination that has accompanied the Night of the Moon for 11 years, this year there is also the expectation for the debut of the Artemis program, whose goal is to bring astronauts back to the Moon.
The unmanned groundbreaking Artemis 1 mission was halted by Hurricane Ian and the next launch attempt could take place no earlier than the second half of the month.
Looking up is just the simplest of the many ways to observe the Moon: NASA lists at least ten, from binoculars to the small telescope, from photography to maps obtained from the many space missions.
"As is now customary, the international star party is an opportunity to propose observations to the telescope dedicated to the Moon and to explore themes such as the genesis and physical characteristics, past and planned space missions, mythology, poetry, music and the different artistic expressions inspired by our natural satellite ", say Uai amateurs.
