Saturday, October 28, 2017, is International Observe the Moon Night (InOMN), an annual worldwide public event that encourages observation, appreciation, and understanding of our Moon and its connection to NASA planetary science and exploration. InOMN is sponsored by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, NASA’s Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI), and the Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Everyone on Earth is invited to join the celebration by hosting or attending an InOMN event — and uniting on one day each year to look at and learn about the Moon together. We encourage you to go to InOMN events near you, such as at your local planetariums or museums, or to go out and observe the moon yourself! You can find events near you at the InOMN site. You can also follow the InOMN Twitter feed to see what everyone is doing to celebrate!

CosmoQuest is proud to be a partner in this celebration of Earth’s natural satellite. Here you can “Observe the Moon” all year long by taking part in lunar-themed activities, such as our Moon Mappers citizen science program, where you’ll get to look at some of the most detailed images taken by the LRO, and help our scientists study the moon and it’s surface. This excellent program is available free of charge, no matter the weather, time of day or your location – you get the best views of the Moon ever!

Take some photos of your activities, whether outdoors observing or indoors mapping craters, and share them online with us on our CosmoQuest Twitter and Facebook feeds using the hashtag #observethemoon, and we will repost our favorites!

Here are just a few of the media celebrations that have already been posted for InOMN!

Moon phase on October 28, 2017 (waxing gibbous). Generate an image of how the moon’s phase will appear from the Northern Hemisphere, or Southern Hemisphere, on any day in 2017 using the Scientific Visualization Studio’s Dial-a-Moon online app. Image via InOMN.

Join CosmoQuest on Twitch for live Moon observations on October 28!

Celebrate ‘International Observe the Moon Night’ at NASA Goddard Visitor Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter composite image shows the Moon as it will appear on the night of Oct. 28 – International Observe the Moon Night. Credit: NASA LRO