The Man in the Moon
Built by Richard Marsden in March 2025 for the Astronomy Secretary’s Challenge
This proved to be an appropriate choice of model — there was a partial eclipse that peaked about an hour before our meeting started.
Guessing that most members would build a telescope or an orrery I decided to try something different, so let me introduce the ‘Man in the Moon’.
According to one of the many legends about him, he is a woodcutter banished to the moon for cutting wood on the sabbath, hence the bundle of sticks on his back.
One assumes there is not a huge demand for firewood on the moon; a bit difficult to get it to burn — bankrupt and suffocated. I have also included the howler that sometimes features in drawings in books of children’s nursery rhymes, the star that is visible despite being within the crescent.
Finding a suitable background to photograph the model against proved tricky, until I realised the back wall of the stage at our meeting hall was painted matt dark grey. Otherwise it would have meant a trip to Norwich!