One Small Step For Mankind

On July 21, 1969 at 02:56 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time), Neil Armstrong stepped out of the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) The Eagle and onto the surface of the moon with the words:

"This is one small step for man.  One giant leap for mankind."

He was followed a few seconds later by Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin Jr.  On that day, that time, they were written into the history books as the first Americans, the first men, the first humans to set first on any world, any moon, any place off of the Planet Earth.  With their courage, the Human Race started on its journey into the Final Frontier.

Neil Armstrong was born on Aug. 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio.  He attended Blume High School and was an Eagle Scout.  (He was awarded Distinguished Eagle Scout and the Silver Buffalo Award later in life.)  He attended Purdue University and entered the US Navy in 1949, became a pilot, earned a Master's Degree, then became a test pilot.  He was chosen for the Space Program in 1962 and first flew into space aboard Gemini 8 on September 20, 1965.

On July 16, 1969 at 13:32 UTC Apollo 11 lifted off the surly bonds of Earth and flew into history.

After his historic flight, the weeks of quarantine, the ticker tape parade, the adoration from the world, Neil Armstrong retired from NASA and Space Flight in 1971.  He taught Aerospace Engineering at University of Cincinnati.  He was asked to join the investigation committees for both Apollo 13 and the Challenger disaster.

Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012 due to complications from surgery.  He is survived by his wife Carol and 2 adult sons from a previous marriage.

Super Moon, Triple Night Sky, And A Meteor Shower

Tonight starts a wild weekend for Astronomers every where.

First up: 

Look toward the southeast on Thursday night (May 3) about an hour after sunset, and you will behold a rare and beautiful sight, a triple conjunction of the moon, the planet Saturn, and the bright star Spica.

A conjunction occurs when two or more astronomical objects are close together in the sky. In reality they are far apart in space; their closeness is just an effect of perspective. In astrology such close encounters are supposed to cause serious effects, but astronomers know that conjunctions are nothing more than a beautiful sight and a photo opportunity.

Because Saturn is the farthest planet from the sun visible to the naked eye, its movements in our sky are very slow. It has been in the constellation Virgo, close to Spica, for a couple of years now. The moon, on the other hand, is very close to Earth, so appears to move relatively quickly across the sky.

Conjunctions like this one provide an excellent opportunity to see how rapidly the moon moves from night to night. On Thursday night, the moon will be well to the right of Saturn and Spica. Twenty-four hours later, on Friday night, it will be well to the left of Saturn and Spica.

Full Story

Second: 

Super Moon!

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend.

The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's biggest.

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon.

And not only does the moon's perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon's close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com's sky watching columnist. This happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular.

This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon.

Though the unusual appearance of this month's full moon may be surprising to some, there's no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn't enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts say.

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said.

The last supermoon occurred in March 2011.

To view this weekend's supermoon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is.

Source

And finally: 

From SpaceWeather:

Earth is entering a stream of debris from Halley's Comet, source of the annual eta Aquarid meteor shower. The shower peaks this weekend on May 5th and 6th. Glare from a perigee full Moon--a "Super Moon"--will interfere with the display. Nevertheless, observers especially in the southern hemisphere could still see dozens of meteors during the hours before local sunrise on May 6th.

What a weekend to be a sky watcher!

Japanese Spacecraft Set to Hit the Moon

From Space Weather

Japan's Kaguya spacecraft will crash into the Moon on Wednesday, June 10th, at around 1830 UT. The timing favors telescopic observers in east Asia, Australia and New Zealand, who may be able to see a brief flash of light or a plume of debris rising from the Moon's southeastern limb close to selenographic coordinates 80ºE, 63ºS.

Kaguya is a big spaceship. It masses 2,900 kg (6 393.40 lbs) and will hit the Moon at an oblique angle traveling approximately 6,000 km/hr (3 728.22 miles). Whether it tumbles and bounces along the lunar surface or runs headlong into some towering crater wall, no one can say. Clues to the end of Kaguya will come on June 10th in the form of an explosive flash (or lack thereof) and high-res images of the crash site taken by future lunar orbiters.

The impact is not accidental. The Japanese space agency, JAXA, has long planned to end the mission in this fashion. Kaguya has been in lunar orbit since Oct. 2007; it has searched dark craters for evidence of frozen water, mapped the moon's gravitational field, and taken some of the all-time prettiest pictures of Earth's satellite.

Farewell, Kaguya!

Images of the crash, if any are captured, will be posted at Space Weather.