Tonight was the first annual International Observe the Moon Night [1]. What? You didn’t know? Oh, sorry Seattle, I kinda didn’t want to get your hopes too high … the forecast wasn’t that great. I apologize profusely.
It is, of course, raining.
We took a photo anyway (and submitted it for judging [2]! I hope we win a side award for “funniest” picture of the Moon or something.):
[3](c) Jason Enevoldsen. This is the ACTUAL location of the Moon, not just a random chunk of cloudy sky.
You can submit your photos too [2]. In fact, the photos don’t have to be from exactly tonight – anytime between August 24th and September 23rd will do. Maybe you took one a couple weeks ago, or maybe you can snap one in between the clouds during the first half of this week.
Anyway, I love these international observing events like the Great World Wide Star Count, and I hope there are more. A lot of them take place over a week or a month, which works better for us here in the Pacific Northwest, we can just choose the cloud-free night and go observe them. Meanwhile, when it is raining like tonight, stargaze through your computer and live vicariously through the good weather of others [4].
And don’t miss my fall equinox sunset viewing [5]. I’ll be there if it is cloudy, but not if it is REALLY raining.
~ A l i c e !