Image of a 50% waxing by Tom McCrorie
The moon, despite being so far from where we stand—238,855 miles, to be precise—is always close to us, in some way, shape, or form. The human species has always been drawn to it, our eyes searching upwards to locate our glowing friend in the darkness. From those in the Stone Age recording its phases to modern-day lunaphiles, the moon links us over centuries and countries, across sweeping oceans and wide stretches of land. It is a constant: it is there to address, acknowledge, and, at the end of a long day, adieu. With only a few lucky enough to set foot on its terrain, we can instead take a step closer to the moon through the lens of a telescope, camera, or even the naked eye, but the allure is no lesser. Not only is the moon incredibly visible to us, but it is also the centre of our daily lives in many ways, from werewolf stories (full moon, I’m looking at you) to the waves on our beaches. From Massachusetts to Malaysia, Ontario to Oslo, we can always rely on our lunar friend being nearby, or as nearby as you perceive 238,855 miles to be!
If you are a fellow space-nerd, it is most likely the case that you have either looked at the moon through a telescope, or scrolled through troves of snapshots online of other peoples’ fascinating images. Although seemingly formulaic, pictures of the moon manage to be unique in their own way, each a little different from the next. However, despite always being present in our night sky, the moon is gradually creeping away from us, roughly one inch further away annually. It won’t be going anywhere anytime soon (hopefully), but this is just one of many curious facts about our lunar friend.
Similar to the planet we call home, the moon’s surface once housed active volcanoes, which now lay comatose, but there is more to its surface than meets the eye. There are both “light” and “dark” areas on the moon, known as “highlands” and “maria”, respectively. The latter once contained lava billions of years ago, and its name originates from the Latin word for seas. Aside from naturally-made features on the surface, the moon is also home to fragments of machinery, six different flags, and other remnants of humanity’s odysseys to our silver neighbour, a reminder of how far we have come in terms of space exploration.
So, whether you say hello to it from your bedroom window, or one day make it up there in a rocket, either as an astronaut or “space tourist”, our lunar friend will always be there to greet us back, providing an omnipresent glow in the darkness. Take a moment to appreciate it – either through a camera or just a look out from the back door of your house – because we are privileged to exist in a world where the moon, something so far away, is so visible.
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