When the Apollo astronauts landed on the moon between 1969 and 1972, they all landed fairly close to the lunar equator. The largest excursion north or south was that of the Apollo 15 mission. It landed 26 degrees north of…
Category: The Moon
Blue Moon Blues
Supermoon! Blue moon! Full moon! People do get excited about this, at least if media coverage and social media posts are any indication. Do I? Well, a full moon means I can see to put the garbage out more easily…
Clocks and Calendars on Other Worlds
What time is it on the moon? You may have read that the European Space Agency is proposing that an international organization be responsible for setting and maintaining lunar time. Why might that be necessary? And what’s wrong with good…
Tagged with: timekeeping
Moon Phases and Earth’s Shadow
Quick! Why does the moon go through phases every month? If you answered that it’s because the Earth’s shadow falls on the moon, be sure the volume on your device is turned on before you click below. Back you…
Tagged with: Lunar phases
A Really Big Rocket
A power lifting record more than fifty years old is soon to be broken. No, I’m not talking about barbells and grunting strong men. The mighty Saturn V is about to be dethroned as the world’s most powerful rocket ever…
China in Space
Were you aware that, in addition to the International Space Station (ISS), there is a Chinese space station orbiting Earth? If not, it’s probably a combination of Chinese opaqueness and the lack of coverage of anything beyond our borders by…
Hawaii or Antarctica?
nealsumerlin
Posted in human spaceflight, Mars, Planets, Solar System, Spacecraft, The Moon
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Fifty years ago, nine missions spread over four years took humans to the moon, either to orbit it, loop around it, or land on its surface. Since the return of Apollo 17 in December 1972, humans have ventured no farther…
Tagged with: Human space exploration
Upcoming Events
Far Encounter Remember the New Horizons spacecraft and its flyby of Pluto in July 2015? That previously little-known world presented us with what should now be expected—the unexpected, and new puzzles to solve. The spacecraft is still operating, sending back…
Fifty Year Old Memories
There are times and places that are stamped so indelibly on our memories that even 50 years later they are as familiar as our own face in the mirror. It may be an event of great happiness or of great…
Tagged with: Apollo 8
One-Faced Moon
One of the most charming things about very young children is their insatiable curiosity, their desire to learn all about the world around them. This is best captured in what can sometimes seem to a frustrated parent to be a…
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