Tag Archives: Moon

International Observe the Moon Night 2024

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UPDATE (9:30AM Sat Sep 14): The weather forecast looks good, so we’re going ahead with the event.

September 14 marks this year’s International Observe the Moon Night. We will join people around the world who are viewing our natural satellite. We invite you to join us at our observatory from 8:00-10:00PM for a magnified view of the moon’s features through our telescope.

This event is weather dependent; if the sky is completed clouded over, we won’t be able to view the moon. If it’s partly cloudy, we might be able to go ahead since the moon is such a bright object and thus easy to find with our telescope. In the event of a weather cancellation, this post will be updated.

If you’re coming to our event, meet us in room 417 of Memorial Hall. We’ll have some moon activities and information for a variety of ages that you can peruse while you wait for your turn to go up to the observatory.

Accessibility: You can take an elevator up to room 417, but it is necessary to climb stairs from there up to the roof and into the observatory to reach the telescope.

If you can’t attend our event, you can still view the moon yourself the same night, or any night. Check out NASA’s viewing guide for tips on how to get the best viewing experience whether you’re using just your eyes, or binoculars or a telescope. NASA’s interactive Daily Moon Guide is also a great resource to show you what moon features you can see on any day.

An example view of the moon through our previous observatory telescope (Meade RCX400) by then student Andrew Clark. You can expect equally impressive views through our current telescope.

International Observe the Moon Night 2023 – CANCELLED

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UPDATE (7:40am Oct 21): Due to the cloudy weather, this event has been cancelled.

Join people around the world viewing the moon on Saturday, October 21 by stopping by our observatory between 7:00 and 9:00 pm, where you can get an up-close view of our astronomical neighbour.

Come to Memorial Hall room 417 where Physics Department staff or local astronomy enthusiasts will greet you and direct you up to the observatory when it is your turn. There will be moon-themed activities for all ages while you wait.

If clouds block the view of the moon, this event will be cancelled. This post will be updated by 9:00am on October 21 in the event of a cancellation.

Accessibility: While you can take an elevator up to the 4th floor of Memorial Hall, it is necessary to be able to climb stairs to reach the roof and the observatory.

Total Lunar Eclipse – November 8, 2022

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There will be a total lunar eclipse early tomorrow morning. The forecasts for that time are currently mixed, so we may just have to wait until tomorrow morning to see how cloudy it will be.

Check out this link to watch a simulation of what the eclipse will look like from PEI: https://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/canada/charlottetown

Screenshot of TimeAndDate.com showing the simulation view of the total lunar eclipse.

You’ll start to see the Earth’s shadow move across the Moon at 5:10am. By 6:16am, the Moon will be completely in the shadow and appear dark with a tint of red. The Moon ill still look that way when it moves below our horizon at just after 7am.

The Moon will be low in the western sky early tomorrow morning, so if you want to view the eclipse you’ll need an unobstructed view to the west.

Total Lunar Eclipse on April 15

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What is a total lunar eclipse?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon moves into the shadow of the Earth. When the Moon is completely covered by the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow (called the umbra), then the eclipse is said to be total. Lunar eclipses only ever occur at the full Moon, as the Earth must be between the Sun and Moon to cast a shadow on the Moon.

What will it look like?

Lunar eclipse in 2008 as viewed from the USA. Photographed by John Buonomo, retrieved from Wikimedia Commons

The first parts of the eclipse when the Moon is in the lighter part of Earth’s shadow (called the penumbra) are very hard to see. In this partial eclipse phase, if you’re in a very dark location and looking carefully, you may notice a  darkening of parts of the Moon’s surface.

The real interesting viewing starts when the total eclipse phase begins. At this time, the only light reaching the Moon from the Sun is light that passes just around the edges of Earth through its atmosphere. The blue colours of the sunlight get scattered away and only the redder colours reach the surface of the Moon to be reflected back for us to see. The Moon will be darker than usual and probably tinted red/orange. Exactly how much it’s tinted depends on atmospheric conditions at the time of the eclipse.

When you can I see it?

The total eclipse will begin Tuesday morning (April 15) at 4:07 am in local time for PEI. The total eclipse stage, when the Moon will look darkest and possibly reddish-orange, will last until 5:25 am. Some of the most interesting moments to watch can be just as totality is beginning (start viewing by 4:00am) or just as totality ends (start viewing by 5:20am).

Watching the entire eclipse can be kinda long and boring, but if you set your alarm clock for an appropriate time in the early morning, you can get up, watch the eclipse for however many minutes you feel like, and then probably still get back to bed for an extra hour or more of sleep before starting your day.

What if it’s cloudy?

If the weather doesn’t cooperate with viewing the eclipse in PEI (i.e. the Moon is blocked by clouds), you can watch the eclipse online in a broadcast by NASA or by Slooh Observatory.

April 12th Public Viewing: A Full House! (Updated)

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A view of the Moon through the UPEI telescope on an evening several years ago.

After several cancelled viewings due to poor weather, we finally got a successful viewing in this Saturday, April 12 – in terms of weather and attendance! The sky cleared up before the viewing and the clouds rolled back in just as it was ending.  About 25 people came out and were treated to views through our telescope and astronomy instruction. Our telescope operator for the night, Mark (a volunteer from RASC) showed guests Jupiter and its moons followed up by Earth’s own Moon.

StellariumScreenshot

Stellarium is a computer program that shows the positions and motions of stars in our sky.

While guests waited for their opportunity to go up to the telescope, fellow RASC volunteer Brian discussed the viewing objects, gave a tour of the night sky using Stellarium, and answered general astronomy questions.

It was an enjoyable night of astronomy for all involved and we hope to see just as many people at our next viewing. The time for the next public viewing is not yet set, but will likely be the second Saturday in May. Details will be posted here when available.

Public viewings are co-hosted by the UPEI Physics Department and the Charlottetown Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC).