GAM 2018 Blog
- Published: Sunday, April 01 2018 17:00
By Mike Simmons
The Moon – the theme for this year’s edition of Global Astronomy Month (GAM) – outshines every other celestial object in its ability to inspire. From a bad omen to a sign of love, the Earth’s Moon has been important in cultures throughout the ages. For denizens of brightly-lit modern cities it’s practically the only nighttime object anyone ever notices.
The Moon can also play a role in connecting our planet’s inhabitants. A government minister in Kurdistan (Iraq) once told me how, during a visit to California in the US, he was talking to someone in Iraq when they realized they could both see the Moon – rising in California, setting in Iraq. Both saw the same object but from different angles on Earth’s sphere. Always visible from half the Earth’s surface, how many amateur astronomers, poets, lovers, and others gaze at the Moon at the same time?
There were perhaps a million who saw the Moon telescopically during one night during the Global Star Party (GSP) in 2009 as nighttime swept the globe. The GSP was part of the 100 Hours of Astronomy Cornerstone Project of the International Year of Astronomy 2009, a worldwide effort that I led and the precursor of GAM. Thousands of amateur astronomers brought their telescopes to the streets to share the nighttime sky with the public. A friend in India related the comments of an elderly gentleman who said he’d witnessed three events that had united Earth’s population, two of which involved the Moon: Lindbergh’s solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927, Apollo 11’s landing on the Moon in 1969, and 100 Hours of Astronomy. How many looked up at the Moon as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin explored its surface?
The Moon may even have played a critical role in the creation of life on Earth because of its large size relative to our planet. There are larger moons in our solar system but they orbit planets that dwarf ours. In Voyager 1’s famous Pale Blue Dot image Earth is just one bright pixel identified as our home planet. In Cassini’s image looking home from Saturn, the Earth and Moon seen together are unmistakable as a unique planet-moon system.
The Moon plays a role in diversity as well. There are tactile versions for the visually impaired, and those with even very limited sight can often view its features up close in telescopes. Culturally, the Moon has been female over the last couple millennia – Selene in Ancient Greece, Luna in Ancient Rome (the Sun is male). During GAM we’ll explore the Moon’s more modern feminine side through the Virtual Telescope Project as Italian astrophysicist Gianluca Masi and Canadian artist Bettina Forget take us on a special live tour of lunar features named for women. Bettina will follow up with a workshop on sketching these features.
The Moon has something for everyone – scientist, poet, geologist, artist, explorer. It was likely the midwife to Earth’s early life and has been humanity’s constant companion. The Moon was where we took our first tentative step into the Cosmos. We’ll reflect on all these roles with a variety of programs during Global Astronomy Month 2018.
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Mike Simmons is the founder and president of Astronomers Without Borders. No stranger to organizing global programs, Mike was was co-chair of 100 Hours of Astronomy in the International Year of Astronomy 2009. Mike has been an amateur astronomer involved in public outreach and education for 40 years. |
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