.
“The Easiest Sight for the Beginning Stargazer”
by Brian Ventrudo, Publisher, One-Minute Astronomer
Of the thousands of sights in the night sky, none is easier to see than our own Moon. The Earth’s only natural satellite covers a patch of sky smaller than your thumbnail, yet it reveals hundreds of fascinating surface features to a casual stargazer with even the smallest telescope.
But after hundreds of years of study, the Moon, in many ways, remains a mystery.
Consider this…
• No other terrestrial planet in our solar system has such a large natural satellite. In fact, our Moon is larger relative to its host planet than any other in the solar system. How did our planet come to have such a large moon?
• Even a casual glance at the Moon reveals dark areas called maria, or “seas”. What distinguishes these seas from the brighter areas on the Moon? And what can they tell us about the history of the early solar system?
• While the Moon has no water or atmosphere like Earth, and so experiences no erosion, is it really an unchanging and dead world? Or is it possible to see and understand subtle changes on the Moon’s surface caused by its unguarded exposure to the harsh environment of interplanetary space?
An Astonishing Journey…
Around the Moon in 28 Days: Lunar Observing for Beginners helps you answer these questions. This detailed course takes you on an astonishing journey through time and space that reveals the fascinating history of our Moon, from its cataclysmic beginnings more than 4 billion years ago, to its massive collisions with rogue asteroids, to the austere “magnificent desolation“ (in the words of astronaut Buzz Aldrin) of the present-day lunar surface.
Along the way, you’ll learn to find nearly 200 distinct features on the Moon’s surface, all of which you can see with a small telescope during the Moon’s continuous month-long journey around the Earth.
You’ll learn to find the Moon’s “seas” and major craters, yes.
But you’ll also discover mountains more than 3 miles high… bright streaks of material ejected a thousand kilometers from recent impact craters… and valleys, fissures, and lava tubes caused by ancient volcanic activity.
You’ll even learn the location of the Apollo moon landings and other key unmanned lunar missions (though no Earth-based telescope is powerful enough to show the remnants of these probes).
And you’ll get a glimpse of the “far side” of the Moon, which until 1959 was unseen by humans and just as mysterious as a galaxy millions of light-years away.
A Grand Tour of the Moon
Around the Moon in 28 Days is a self-paced course that uses written notes along with dozens of maps, illustrations, and videos to take you on a tour of the Moon’s surface over each day of the nearly month-long lunar cycle.
The course is written in same engaging, easy-to-understand style as the articles on One-Minute Astronomer, which is read by more than 21,000 amateur and professional astronomers around the world. A major U.S newspaper said the writing at One-Minute Astronomer has “the remarkable ability to convey science knowledge in a way that enables average readers to appreciate and absorb it.”
Each of the contributors to Around the Moon in 28 Days has at least 20 years of experience as amateur astronomers and lunar observers. I’ve edited this course myself, and can tell you that despite having graduate degrees in astronomy and applied physics, I’ve learned surprising new things about the Moon, and followed the course material through the month to see many new sights for myself.
The first sections of Around the Moon in 28 Days take you back to the Moon’s beginnings, and give you an idea of how to interpret the surface features you’ll see in the day-by-day tours. You’ll learn where to find the Moon in the sky during the month, and how and when to best see the Moon with binoculars or telescope.
As you follow the tours in Around the Moon in 28 Days, you’ll learn to find for yourself some shockingly beautiful lunar features from your backyard, with even the most modest telescope including…
• A puzzling sight near the western limb of the Moon that is one of only four like it in the solar system. Planetary scientists still don’t know what it is!
• A deep, 177-km-long chasm across the northern Moon best seen in stark relief about 6 days after new Moon
• A tiny, sinuous groove in the Moon’s surface visited by the astronauts of Apollo 15
• Two grand craters over which you can enjoy a dramatic lunar sunrise over the course of an evening’s viewing, when the hills and ledges around the crater cast the most striking shadows
And while the full Moon isn’t the best time for viewing in a telescope, it’s a dazzling sight held in high regard by poets and mystics over the ages. Just for fun, you’ll learn the many names of the full Moon during the year, from the Full Wolf Moon in January to the Frosty Moon in December.
Explore the Moon At Your Own Pace
When you register for Around the Moon in 28 Days, you get instant access to all course material on the Stargazer University website. Work through the sections at your own pace, and return to the course at your convenience. The course material includes…
• A self-paced 35-section multimedia course on lunar observing, showing you the most intriguing sites on the Moon’s surface over its 29.5 day cycle
• Complete course notes in PDF format, for you to download and review offline at your convenience
• Dozens of images and maps showing the key features on the Moon each day it is visible during the month
• A full map of the Moon showing major features visible with binoculars
• A more extensive map showing more than 80 sights on the Moon’s surface, as well as the location of the manned Apollo missions
• Optional multiple-choice exams to test your knowledge and understanding of the course material
• Your personal observing checklist of almost 200 features listed in course, so you can record your successful lunar observations as you make them with your own telescope
What’s more, you get full email access to an expert instructor so you can ask any questions about the course material and observing the Moon for yourself.
And you get instant access to all additions and updates to the course as they become available.
The price of this course is US$27. No book, no magazine, and no astronomy website gives you such complete educational tools for observing the Moon, at any price.
Simply Log In to your Stargazer University account, or click on “Create An Account” at the right side of this page to get a user name and password. You can pay with PayPal or major credit card.
A Source of Enduring Fascination
Noted astronomy teacher and author Rod Mollise has been a serious stargazer for more than 40 years. And he still, after all he has seen in the night sky, considers the Moon “a source of enduring beauty and fascination.”
Whether you’re a beginning stargazer or you already have some experience, Around the Moon in 28 Days gives you a grand opportunity to learn your own way around our nearest celestial neighbor. All you need is a small telescope, a patch of clear sky, and a burning desire to see something truly remarkable.
Wishing you clear skies,
Brian Ventrudo, Ph.D.
Publisher, One-Minute Astronomer
P.S. As with all products at One-Minute Astronomer and Stargazer University, you can try Around the Moon in 28 Days: Lunar Observing for Beginners with absolutely no risk. If, after 60 days, you don’t think it’s the right resource for you, just let us know and you’ll get a full refund. No questions asked. And you can keep the course notes and maps as a token of our appreciation.