what's new in
inconstant moon

november 2004

More anti-spam security updates to guestbook, and phase calculator adapted for southern hemisphere.

august 2004

Anti-spam security updates to guestbook.

december 2003

The 2004 calendar and diary are released.

future developments

Further Cyclopedia Selenica sections are under development: additional detailed articles, javascript calculators, interactivities, animations and much more...

may 2003

Lunar Image of the Month brought up to date. Images have now been selected and permissions sought to cover to the end of 2006. There are some excellent pictures in the pipeline!

april 2003

News section redesigned and extended.

february 2003

Lunar diary modified to work better across years.

january 2003

A new article on the Harvest Moon added to the nightly tours. The 2003 calendar and diary are also released, later than usual due to software problems!

july 2002

Q&A section of Cyclopedia Selenica is overhauled and divided into subject categories for ease of use.

june 2002

New material and imagery added to Selene and Euterpe, the poetry section of Cyclopedia Selenica.

may 2002

Feature on Project Apollo, with interactive panoramic images of the lunar surface, added to Cyclopedia Selenica.

march 2002

New maps added to Selenographia: bright features, meteorite impacts and transient lunar phenomena locations.

february 2002

Three interactive quizzes have been added to the "serendipity" section of Cyclopedia Selenica.

december 2001

Selenographia, the Inconstant Moon Atlas, is finally launched after 10 months of development. The 2002 calendar and diary are also released.

october 2001

The interactive poll has been replaced by an totally new and much better one. The links pages have been overhauled and extended. The calendar pages have been switched JavaScript navigation - final stages of preparation for Selenographia.

september 2001

More than three quarters of the photo images for the Selenographia lunar atlas have now been completed, and launch is still on target for autumn.

august 2001

An interactive Lunar Poll has been added. The whole site has been given a thorough cleanup in readiness for Selenographia.

july 2001

Although the calendars are created by hand, the switchover at the beginning of each month is now automated. A new Cyclopedia section on Lunar Exploration has been added.

june 2001

Cylindrical projection maps have been added to the maps section of Cyclopedia Selenica. New illustrated articles have been added, one comparing our moon to others in the solar system, another using animation to show how the Moon changes its appearance over a month, and a third discussing the meanings and origins of the term "Blue Moon".

may 2001

Within Cyclopedia Selenica, the news section has been greatly extended and linked to more permanent sources, the maps section has been extended to include more detailed Ranger, Surveyor and Luna landings, illustrations have been added to the eclipse feature, and new poetry has been added to Selene and Euterpe. The first photo images have been completed for the forthcoming lunar atlas section.

april 2001

Launch Pad is added as a quick way of accessing some of the key areas of the site. It also includes a site tour to help visitors explore IM's 400+ pages. Finally, a new Cyclopedia section - Tool Box - includes a phase calculator, a distance converter and a site search engine.

march 2001

The maps have been totally overhauled and several new ones added. All browsers can now use the map overlay feature. Work has begun on a new long-term project - a lunar atlas.

february 2001

IM moves from being split across two servers to one powerful new server. Our apologies to anyone who experiences disruption while the links are sorted out. As part of the move, the guestbook has been replaced with a dedicated IM one.

january 2001

Diary added, showing precise times of principal phases and details of eclipses and other lunar events.

december 2000

The annual development of new calendars takes IM into its 5th year!.

november 2000

The IM Bookstore is given a thorough revision and expanded by more than 50%.

october 2000

Moon Memory Game added to the Cyclopedia Selenica.

september 2000

Q&A section given a facelift and together with a push to clear the question backlog.

april 2000

The site's image is given an overhaul - titles, colour schemes and some graphics are enhanced, including the front page.

march 2000

The "service" pages (site map, awards, index etc.) are checked over and brought up to date.

february 2000

"Lunar Image of the Month" restructured. Images have currently been selected for every month until October.

december 1999

New calendars developed for 2000, linking to the tours for each night, with special tours for eclipse dates.

august 1999

A collection of Moon-inspired poetry added, with the hopefully poetic title Selene & Euterpe (ancient Greek goddesses of the Moon and muse of poetry respectively).

july 1999

On the 7th IM was a finalist in the Yell UK Web Awards 1999. Sadly we didn't win, but it was an exciting day. Thank you to everyone who wrote to wish us well!

june 1999

More sections added to Cyclopedia Selenica, including recent news bulletins and Lunar Image of the Month.

may 1999

Cyclopedia Selenica - Inconstant Moon's new reference zone - is launched. Initially it includes detailed articles on eclipses, lunar links, maps, an online bookstore and lunar data and trivia.

april 1999

IM gets its own registered domain: www.inconstantmoon.com.

march 1999

Enhancements made to the calendar and musical programmes. Inconstant Moon featured in Astronomy magazine's "The Webweaver Picks".

february 1999

A further 45 images added, by Antonio Cidadao, Fred Espenak, Morio Higashida and Patrice Poyet - more than doubling the number of illustrations. Each image is linked to additional information about the feature.

january 1999

Minor updates only... a major upgrade is in progress and should be ready by next month.

december 1998

Site Map & What's New pages added.

november 1998

New calendars developed for 1999, linking to the tours for each night, with special tours for eclipse dates and blue moons. Inconstant Moon featured in Astronomy Now magazine's "Internet Site of the Month".

september 1998

More lunar images from Thierry Legault added.

august 1998

Moon-related music expanded from three tracks to nearly thirty, arranged in five streaming programmes: no-one said science can't be fun too!

july 1998

Tour backgrounds and images recoloured, graduating from purple of sunset for young Moon through darkening blues to midnight black of full Moon and back to sunrise purple for old Moon. New front page developed - some search engines do not cope well with frames.

june 1998

Maps added. The Internet Explorer versions use text overlays on a fixed image. Inconstant Moon receives its first award, from the tautologous but erudite and eloquent Site du Jour of the Day.

may 1998

Images by Steve Massey and Richard Evans added.

april 1998

First images added, from Thierry Legault & NASA. Web links section redesigned and greatly expanded.

march 1998

Final nightly tour put in place. Catalog of features added with links to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Moon.

january 1998

Site linked to the Web, to considerable surprise of author! Frantic work to complete sequence of nightly tours begins. Each tour is passed through four drafts.

winter 1997

Experimental website created - not linked to Internet, so viewing by invitation only.

summer 1997

Original concept devised, site and screen layouts designed, research and nearly 16,000 words of notes begun.

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