Hot Picks for the Month of April
Are you on Facebook? Be sure to become a fan of Rittenhouse Astronomical Society today!
Do you feel the fresh air? How about all of the lovely trees blooming around us! It seems like the old saying “In like a lion, out like a lamb” sure was true for us this
year in the Delaware valley.
I’m not sure about you, but I have not had many chances to get out and observe this winter from all of the clouds, rain, and, snow but it sure does look like the weather
pattern is quickly changing. We have been seeing many brilliant nights lately of clear and crisp spring skies. During the end of March we had a brilliant first quarter moon
and many nights I noticed a great deal of ‘earthshine’ glowing around the Moon.
Many people like to observe the Moon when it is full, however this is usually not the best time to view it. When the moon is half or less than half you often see much more detail
and the craters of the Moon really ‘pop’ out at you. For a second, lets jump back to ‘earthshine.’ This is such a brilliant phenomena to observe and you don’t even need any aide
to view, just your own eyes. Earthshine is defined as when you can see reflected earthlight back on the dark side of the moon. This often makes it seem as though can see
the full moon, but the part that is completing the moon is black. Here is a good example of earthshine (Photograph taken by member Joe Stieber). You can view all of Joe’s
pictures here.
So when you step outside this month on a nice clear night, be sure to take a look up at the moon. Take a second to see if you can notice this brilliant astronomical phenomena
of earthsine. It is also easy to capture earthshine with a regular digital camera. This would be a good start to astrophotgraphy. If you can capture earthshine, we would love to
see it and upload your pictures to our website, so be sure to send them to us!
Clear Skies
Dan McCormick
Student Webmaster
