Hundreds of people were excited to see the Moon and Saturn up close in the 2025 edition of “The Night of the Stars,” which took place yesterday Saturday at the Centenario Zoo.
The event, which was held simultaneously in 118 cities in the country with the motto “Between stars and atoms. Quantum science and technology”, attracted entire families from early on.
Although most of the activities began at six in the afternoon, after the sun went down, from four o’clock you could already see many people lining up to look into the special telescopes that were installed on the esplanade in front of the little train station.
Special equipment was also installed at the entrance to the park.
Several visitors took the opportunity to be among the first to participate. In fact, since five in the afternoon several people had observed the moon, the only celestial body that could be seen at that time.
“We came for a walk, when we were about to leave we saw that they were putting them up (the telescopes), we asked why and we stayed,” said Ximena Gutiérrez after going to look in one of these devices.
“I liked how the Moon looked. I had never seen it like that, my children also liked it. I think it’s good that they do these events because children like it,” he said.
Interviewed at the beginning of the day, Juan José Durán Nájera, director of the Museum of Natural History and one of the main promoters of the activity, said that the moon and Saturn would be the ones that would be observed.
“There are some telescopes that, if the weather helps us a little more and the sky clears more, maybe we can see the star Albireo. Later, if the weather also allows it, we can see the Pleiades, and if the weather is not so foggy, maybe we can see some constellations.”
Conditions in favor
The advantage of being in the Centennial is that the trees, contrary to what many people think, help, he mentioned. “They are not an obstacle, but rather they form a kind of funnel where we can observe a part of the sky.”
“It is not the ideal place, but it is the place that best meets the conditions we can have to observe,” he said.
Durán Nájera recalled that the first edition was held in 2009 and several archaeological zones were chosen as the venue. “If I remember correctly, it was at the end of January, but there were complaints from colleagues in the north of the country because on those dates there is a lot of fog there and many dust storms, and they could not observe anything.”
Given this, he said, a national committee was formed with several institutions, including the Mexican Association of Planetariums, the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (Inaoe), the Institute of Astronomy and the Mexican Academy of Sciences, which determined a new date in November.
The day, he said, is defined by the phase of the Moon, which is currently waxing. “Many people think that it is better to observe the moon when it is full, and it is not.”
“If you don’t have a filter for your telescope, the moon’s glow is so strong that it hurts your eyes a little. It is best when it is in the waning or waxing phase. Even as shadows form in the craters, they can be seen better, like the Sea of Tranquility, where the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed.”— IVÁN CANUL EK
celestial bodies
“The night of the stars” 2025 attracted hundreds of curious people to the Centennial.
Learning
Although the observation of stars in special telescopes was what attracted the most attention, more than 70 activities were carried out during the day, including talks and conferences on star clusters in the night sky, the color of starfire, quantum biology and dark energy.
Fun
There were also games like an all-star version of “Snakes and Ladders,” a space explorer-themed memo, all-star trivia, and a contest called “One Hundred Astronomers Said…”.