Star Points for September, 2005; by Curtis Roelle Amateur Astronomers and World Governments Eyeing Fruit Moon The September 17th full moon is nicknamed the "Fruit Moon." Since it will also be the closest full moon to the Sept. 22 Atumnal Equinox it is also called "Harvest Moon." For me Harvest Moon means clearcrisp nights with marching bands, twirlers, and cheerleaders energetically moving under stadium lights as the leering man in the bulbous orange moon looms low over the field. For astronomers the full moon is generally thought of as an annoyance. The glare of sunlight bounced back off the lunar surface washes out faint stars, galaxies, and nebulae which we enjoy seeing. Even views of the moon itself through a telescope is unrewarding because the full moon has no shadows. Without the vertical relief that shadows provide everything from mountains to craters appears flat. This doesn't mean that the full moon is featureless. Indeed there are several naked eye sites from the "man in the moon" to the large dark "maria" regions where molten pools of lava once existed. The man in the moon is not alone. There is also a lady, a rabbit, plus a jumping cow. The Astronomical League (A.L.) has sketches of each on its web site. In addition, the A.L. has compiled a list consisting of 100 interesting visible lunar features including craters, mountains and valleys. The list is divided into objects visible to the 1) unaided eye, 2) binoculars, and 3) small telescopes. A.L. members who complete the self study observing program receive a "Lunar Club" certificate and an attractive pin for their efforts. The A.L. is a federation of American astronomy clubs of which the Westminster Astronomical Society, Inc. (WASI) is a member. WASI membership automatically includes A.L. membership. For membership information see the WASI web page (http://www.westminsterastro.org/). A.L. members can also participate in and receive awards for 23 other observing programs as well. To find out more go the A.L. web site at http://www.astroleague.org/ and click on the "Observing Clubs" tab. From there you can visit the "Lunar Club" or any other observing program. Another interesting program for lunar observing was developed by Sky and Telescope magazine writer Charles A. Wood. Wood's list, like the A.L.'s, consists of 100 lunar features. The complete "Lunar 100" can may be found at the S&T web site (http://skyandtelescope.com/observing/objects/moon/article_1199_1.asp). Speaking of the moon, this column has been following the world wide manned space effort from a safe distance, particularly those that are focusing on a manned return to the moon. In February Japan announced its plans to establish a manned lunar base plus its own version of a space shuttle by the year 2025. No word yet on when Japan plans to put its first human in space. In the meantime a commercial space tourism firm in Virginia recently announced plans to send well heeled tourists for a swing around the moon on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. With a starting price of $100 million lucky tourists would spend up to one week at the International Space Station (ISS) before speeding off for a single trip around moon. The Soyuz would not enter moon orbit. Rather the lunar gravity would be used to swing the Soyuz around the moon and put it on a return trajectory to earth. The only time that such a "free return trajectory" has ever been performed using a manned vehicle was in 1970 when the crippled Apollo 13 spacecraft whipped around the moon without landing after losing most of its oxygen supply in an on- board explosion. The first manned Soyuz flew in 1967. Still Russia's space workhorse after all these years Soyuz hasn't had a fatal accident since (knock on wood) 1971. The Russians also have a new spacecraft on the drawing board intended to replace the Soyuz. "Klipper" is a small space shuttle craft designed to loft up to six persons into space. When China's first man in space, Yang Liwei, visited Russia in August he was given an invitation to pilot the first manned Russian lunar orbital mission. Yang accepted. Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) expects the first manned Klipper flight test in earth orbit to be in 2012. No word yet on when Russia expects to accomplish its first lunar orbital mission. The first manned spacecraft to orbit the moon was NASA's Apollo 8 in 1968.