How did you get interested in studying the Moon

How did you get interested in studying the Moon Like many children, my parents gave me a 60 mm telescope for Christmas one year. The scope is a typical department store brand - not very good - but at a 12-year-old opened the universe.Through see the moons of Jupiter, the phases of Venus and the rings of Satu. But above all, open your eyes, there was the moon. There in the eyepiece was steep mountains - needles long shadows from the crater lowlands, dark maria and (painfully) bright highlands, a surface excavation craters of all sizes, some with bright rays and expelled some type characteristics Squiggle fun. Soon leaed that the greater amount of detail to be noted along the terminator, the line dividing dark from light, the shadows that play in them the characteristics that presents a sharp contrast. And for all this, every night different characteristics can be seen in detail.They say that when you get older, the memory plays tricks on you - you remember the good things bad. I remember many clear, cold winter nights when I could point my scope at the moon and scan the disk for some feature I had not seen before in relief. These days, the sky appears to be much more obscure and often freezing winter nights are very rare. I imagine that the global warming for you! The passage of time and I moved in and out of positions in the Committee of astronomy societies, editing some magazines on the road (now my ezine, called photons, and every two months). More information about astronomy became bureaucracy managing clubs to look through a telescope. Then in late'90s, eager to retu to my astronomical "roots", I bought a "real" telescope, an 8 "reflector that is easily switched to the moon. Stunning views assaulted my eyes, once again (remember to ask the Halcyon nights and 12 years of research through my old 60 mm scale). I am a writer of software (or "engineer"?) By profession, so I wrote some software to help me in my planning moon observations. told me that when the moon and an increase, which is the stage to another. When people saw that they said they wanted a copy, I polished and released as Shareware under the title LunarPhase. E 'has a broader application called Pro LunarPhase. I am pleased that he has received great reviews - I feel like I did something to make other people aware of my old friend, for the progress of sky.With light pollution throughout the world, pristine skies of my youth were disappearing behind the yellow-orange glow of street lights more and more. Where once stars twinkling on a velvet background, a few meters resistant light gaet hours through fog and mist glow neon background. But the moon is always there, outshining any murk and pollution in the cough sky.It 's a pity that the sky did not deal with the same respect we give to our national parks. After all, the sky belongs to us all. How many of us really appreciate people throwing garbage in our yard. Why should we allow others to pollute our natural resources? In these days, are on the moon photography with digital cameras and more sophisticated CCD cameras. I posted a couple of my photos on my website if you want to view. One more night under the stars with a partially illuminated moon high in the sky, an exercise in humility and relax. The Moon is the only object in the solar system where you can see the real surface detail. I feel so passionate for what he has also written a book called The Observer Moon.Growing Apollo during the period, I must say that the missions played a large part to encourage my interest in the moon. My interest is alive and well and stretches in other directions (and not later). I hope that yours is too.Onward and upward, as they say! Gary Nugent has spent more years that she cares to remember pursue astronomy as a hobby. Has performed a number of sites on the basis of astronomy: Observing the night sky: This month the Moon: The Moon-El - Month.htm LunarPhase Pro: "Photon" ezine astronomy: