Hi everybody

Here's the latest article from the Astronomy site at BellaOnline.com.

Full Meridian of Glory – book review
What was the Paris Meridian? The “Full Meridian of Glory” tells its story and the stories of those who surveyed it. It's a saga of love and betrayal, dedication and deprivation, heroism and pettiness, and sometimes death. Truth really is stranger than fiction.

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art181703.asp

*Astronomy Day*

This autumn's Astronomy Day is on October 13. Astronomy Day has been an annual celebration of astronomy for nearly forty years of "bringing astronomy to the people." See if you can find an event near you. If not, create your own event by skywatching with a friend - our Absolute Beginners guides will help you out. Find out more at: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art56882.asp

*The far side of the Moon*

On October 7, 1959 humanity got its first sight of the far side of the Moon. The Moon's rotation is locked to the Earth so that it rotates once as it orbits once. The same side always faces us. The Soviet probe Luna 3 got the first pictures of the side we don't see. (The only humans to see this side of the Moon with their own eyes were Apollo astronauts.) In this picture the left side of the image shows part of the Moon which we can see – this gives us some reference points: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/250090585531193721/

Find out more about the Moon here:
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32833.asp (The Moon – Earth's Daughter)
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32819.asp (Moon Facts for Kids)

*Neptune's biggest moon*
On October 10, 1846 William Lassell discovered Triton. This was soon after the discovery of Neptune itself. Lassell had also discovered two moons of Uranus and asked for John Herschel's advice in naming them. Find out more in “Literary Moons of Uranus” at: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art181335.asp

*Dedication of the VLA*
The Very Large Array (now the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array) was dedicated in New Mexico on October 10, 1980. Its 27 radio antennas are in a Y-shaped configuration. Each one is just 25 meters in diameter, but the data from them can be combined to get the resolution of an antenna 36 km across. Here is a picture of some of the dishes: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/250090585531194797/

For a variety of astronomy images, follow me on Pinterest at: http://pinterest.com/astrobella/

To participate in online discussions, this site has a community forum all about Astronomy located here - http://forums.bellaonline.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=postlist&Board=323

Please visit astronomy.bellaonline.com for even more great content about Astronomy.

I hope to hear from you sometime soon, either in the forum or in response to this email message. I welcome your feedback!

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I wish you clear skies.

Mona Evans, Astronomy Editor
http://astronomy.bellaonline.com

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