Doctor Manhattan, The Duke and the Moon

"All we ever see of stars are their old photographs." Doctor Manhattan, WATCHMEN

Wow, I guess there's water on the moon after all - we've been getting lots of rain since this morning's Moon Bombing!

And speaking of our moon...

This is the Duke family. The father, Charles Moss Duke, Jr. born October 3, 1935. The mom, Dorothy Meade Claiborne. The two sons, Charles and Thomas. They are probably in their garden, sitting on a bench. They look so happy.

And they should be, because Charles Moss Duke was the lunar module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972. He landed with mission commander John W. Young at the Descartes Highlands, which is what makes this photo so special: It's still there, untouched, unperturbed, exactly in the same position as he left it before taking this snapshot with his Hasselblad 70mm film camera.

Read the rest of this great post from the smart folks over at Gizmodo: This Is Not Your Ordinary Family Photo.

When I first saw this shot I immediately thought of Watchmen - how cool is this?


Have a great weekend!

That's Right,

HMK

Behold! The Real Moonwalk Thriller!

"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind." Neil Armstrong

"This is the LM pilot. I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way." Buzz Aldrin

"Ok guys, I'll guess I'll see you back here in about 21 hours or so..." Michael Collins.

The lunar module landed at 20:17 on July 20th and took off at 17:54 on July 21st.


Actually, Michael Collins, the least famous our amazing trio did a lot more than he's credited for. The now famous mission patch of Apollo 11 was his creation. Jim Lovell, the backup commander, mentioned the idea of eagles, a symbol of the United States. Collins liked the idea and found a photo in a National Geographic magazine, traced it and added the lunar surface below and Earth in the background.


The Apollo 11 Crew: Lunar Module Pilot, Edwin (Buzz) Aldrin Jr, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Mission commander and first man on the Moon Neil Armstrong.

Go to the Moon with Google Earth!:



That's Right!

HMK

We Choose The Moon!

All Things Apollo 11!

• Interactive: Recreating the Apollo 11 mission in real time, with Mission control transmissions via Twitter, e-mail alerts and a mission tracker.


• Interactive: Review a space race timeline, watch videos and study the history of the space program.


• Neil Armstrong: Check written by Neil Armstrong auctioned.


• Mission audio: Sounds from the Apollo 11 mission.


• NASA: The Web site for the 40th anniversary.


• NASA: The Apollo 11 history page


• Google: Tour the moon missions.


• Twitter: ApolloPlus40 tracks the mission as it happened.


• Facebook: Visit the group page and join the conversation.


• Smithsonian: The National Air and Space Museum's exhibit on the Apollo program.


• iTunes: 'Apollo 11: The Game' is an app that puts you in the lander's cockpit.


• NASA: The Lunar Science Institute


• Wikipedia: Review the audio, photos and other links in the Apollo 11 entry.

• HBO: Featurettes on the making of the miniseries 'From the Earth to the Moon.'


• YouTube: Footage of Apollo 11's moon landing.

That's Right,

HMK

First Images: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter

That's right, old school - we're going back to the moon!

NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter sent its first images back to Earth after activating its cameras June 30, 2009.

The LRO has both a low-resolution wide-angle camera and a high-resolution camera. These shots were taken at the boundary between night and day, capturing shadows that exaggerate the terrain. Though the surface appears very rough, it is actually similar to the highland area where Apollo 16 landed and explored with a rover.

The LRO will get as close as 19 miles above the surface, but will spend most of its mission 31 miles up.

These pictures were taken to calibrate the cameras.

Read the rest and check out more images over at WIRED

That's Right,

HMK

Images: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center/Arizona State University

The Full Cold Moon: Friday, December 12th!

Don't miss this and tell your friends!

According to the always reliable Old Farmer's Almanac, this is the month when the winter cold fastens its grip and the nights become long and dark. The December full Moon is also called the Long Nights Moon by some Native American tribes.

This Friday night, December 12th, sky watchers and moon lovers alike will be treated to an exceptionally bright and large full Moon. In fact, this Moon is 14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full Moons this year. Why? The Moon is both in its full phase and at a point in its orbit that is nearest Earth, called its perigee.

When these events occur together, the Moon is closer to Earth than usual. The effect? The Full Cold Moon will appear especially large near the horizon as the Sun sets.

Another cool bonus of this December's Full Cold Moon is that just about midnight it's almost directly overhead making it perfect for an awesome midnight stroll!

More Moon Info from: Old Farmer's Almanac.

Check it out - you'll be so glad you did!

That's Right,

HMK

Thanks to Old Farmer's Almanac