Hi all,
This past Saturday (September 26th) the BAA participated in NASA’s International Observe the Moon Night, a yearly celebration that aims to unite lunar observers to enjoy of one of Earth’s best known astronomical sights. Like all of our current public events, this was simultaneously livestreamed through Zoom to our Facebook and Youtube pages. If you wish to watch the stream, you can do so below:
https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloAstronomy/videos/637438593482542/
Dennis kicked off the program with a sweet activity for young astronomers at home (I won’t spoil it, watch for yourself!) and then gave a presentation on humanity’s history with our moon, as well as what may lie for us beyond. Paul M. from Penn Dixie also provided a wonderful introduction to the Moon and answered some interesting questions (When do lunar eclipses happen? What’s a supermoon?) in his talk:
Then, we moved into the mostly observational section of our event, with BAA members demonstrating live views. Dan, who was out at the observatory broadcasting live from our club scope, gave us a wide-field view. Pat C. was able to show and discuss some of the historical Apollo landing sites (and also speak a little bit about why you can’t see the flag on the moon!) Feel free to click to get a closer look:
Our president Mike showed a unique way to experience the Moon through touch — by having it 3D printed! And I ended up getting some images of the Moon myself through my smartphone camera with a NexYZ phone mount. We also discussed individual features, including the Tycho and Clavius craters, and a mysterious monthly apparition called the X:
Last but certainly not least, here are some awesome images from Phil, taken as a video with with his Dobsonian telescope. Definitely click on these to get up close! If you listen to the Facebook presentation, you should be able to pick out some areas that we mentioned:
Overall, it was an awesome time with something for everyone. Hopefully we will be able to hold this again next year, but with in-person visitation at our observatory or another public location. Regardless, enjoy the images and stream, and keep looking up!