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From: dipper@utastro.UUCP (Debbie Byrd)
Newsgroups: net.astro
Subject: StarDate: October 6 The Light of the Moon
Message-ID: <21@utastro.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 6-Oct-85 02:00:21 EDT
Article-I.D.: utastro.21
Posted: Sun Oct  6 02:00:21 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 8-Oct-85 07:13:19 EDT
Organization: U. Texas, Astronomy, Austin, TX
Lines: 34

You've got a good chance tonight to notice how much light the moon
casts in the sky.  More -- after this.

October 6  The Light of the Moon

Here's an interesting observation you might want to try.  It'll work
best in a country sky, where city lights don't get in the way.

The moon is now at last quarter -- which means it'll rise after
midnight.  That means the evening sky will be dark -- and from a
location free from city lights, you'll have no trouble seeing faint
stars.

After moonrise, you'll have a chance to compare -- to see just how much
light the moon really does add to the sky.  It's kind of a shock to get
up around 3 a.m. -- to go out and look at the same sky you saw before
-- and realize just how many fewer stars are visible.  None of the very
faint ones will remain -- and the entire sky will be washed with the
bright light of the moon -- a gray sky instead of a black one.  And
again this is only a last quarter moon, which appears half-illuminated
in our sky -- like half a pie.  When there's a full moon, which rises
around sunset, the night sky appears even brighter.

The brightness of the moon is something you don't notice, unless you
live away from city lights -- or unless you're a stargazer with a
reason to want a dark sky.  But it's something anyone can become aware
of -- and it's even interesting to see if you notice any difference
from the city.  Give it a try!



Script by Deborah Byrd.

(c) Copyright 1984, 1985 McDonald Observatory, University of Texas at Austin