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Let's enjoy these days of the full moon with the optical illusion known as 'the face of the moon', which will shine bright near Jupiter and Saturn.

Pareidolia

The last full moon of summer will take place next Wednesday, September 2. But during this weekend we already have the surface of our satellite very illuminated: 75% of the surface will be visible on Friday night and 90% on Sunday night.

With this visibility, we can now take the opportunity to locate the pareidolia of "the face of the moon." It is an optical illusion, a psychological phenomenon in our brain, which suggests, whimsically, that the surface of the moon forms a human face.

The 'face of the moon' is formed by the large dark areas ('seas') of the lunar surface that are marked with numbers in the image that accompanies this article: the eyes are formed by the Mare Imbrium (1) and the Mare Serenitatis (2), the nose the Vaporum (3) and Insularium (4) seas, and the large mouth the Cognitum (5) and Nubium (6) seas.

Naturally these seas have nothing to do with water. The lunar seas (or 'maria') were created over millions of years by the impact of meteorites that pierced the surface of the moon thus producing large depressions in the ground that, later, were filled and leveled by basaltic lava coming of the lunar mantle. The basalt of these great plains is darker than the regolith that is deposited on much of the lunar soil. The brightness contrast (its efficiency in reflecting light) between the darkest seas and the surrounding highlands, which is maximum at a full moon, is what forms the optical illusion of 'the face of the moon'.

Although with different variants, the face of the moon has been perceived by many civilizations throughout the history of mankind. But I do not think that this psychological phenomenon should be taken as a desire to see a higher being that protects or watches over us, but simply the effort of our brain to recognize in an amorphous image, a pattern or a figure that is familiar to us .

Among giants

During this weekend the lunar disk is very close to the giant planets. On the night of Friday the 28th, we have it next to Jupiter and on the 29th it will pass next to Saturn. On the night of Sunday 30, the moon will shine very gibbous and almost full on the left of the planet with the rings.

The two giant planets are now extremely bright, and that even though both are far from Earth: Jupiter and Saturn 4.4 times 9.2 times farther from the sun . But, like the full moon, both planets are in a completely opposite direction to that of the Sun, their illumination is optimal, and that is what causes their intense brightness. Your position is now ideal for astronomical observation. With a small telescope you can easily see its moons, the great spot of Jupiter and the rings of Saturn.

The Moon, Jupiter and Saturn.Stellarium / RB

Although almost imperceptibly, as the days go by, the two giant planets are approaching in the sky . This approach will reach the limit on the solstice, on December 21, when both planets will appear practically together, that is, on the same line of sight (if the sky is clear that day, we will have to be vigilant so as not to miss a single moment ).

On the nights of this weekend, the trio formed by Jupiter, Saturn and the Moon, will rise shortly after sunset to culminate, in the south, around midnight and end up going to bed in the southwest around 4h in the morning. During the night we can also observe the reddish Mars very high on the horizon and, already near dawn, a very bright Venus that, more than ever, now deserves the beautiful name of the morning star .

Rafael Bachiller is director of the National Astronomical Observatory (National Geographic Institute) and academic of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain [http://bit.ly/TYmE6r].

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