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Darkoshi ([personal profile] darkoshi) wrote2026-04-22 02:55 am
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moony thoughts

I want to say Jupiter is doing a lunar flyby tomorrow. The Lyrids meteor shower is expected to peak tomorrow night too.

The dark part of the crescent moon has been looking more visible than usual; a lighter shade of gray. Earthshine is brighter this time of year, according to those pages; the latter one gives an explanation as to why.

Looking at the moon recently I had the thought of it being a 5 days' journey away; not the kind of thought I used to have while looking at it.

Humans have been on the moon 6 times already; the last time was Apollo 17 in 1972. I hadn't remembered it being more than once.

I still want to find out why it wouldn't work to send a craft around the moon when the moon is in the new moon phase, so that the craft could see the far side all lit up. I imagine the sun's gravity causes problems with the trajectory, but then again the sun is so far away that I'm not sure.