Yearly Archives: 2009

apollo 11, Lunar exploration, lunar landing

It Was 40 Years Ago Today

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When the Astronauts Came Out to Play

The first astronauts on the Moon achieved something for more than the U.S. (which funded the mission); they took that giant leap for all people on Earth. From Apollo: through the eyes of the astronauts. (Click to embiggen.)
The first astronauts on the Moon achieved something for more than the U.S. (which funded the mission); they took that giant leap for all people on Earth. From "Apollo: through the eyes of the astronauts". (Click to embiggen.)

And what a grand play it was — not “play” in the sense of “fooling around getting nothing done”, but “play” as in making one of the biggest plays that humanity could achieve since the discovery that Earth is a planet, the Sun is a star, and we’re all part of a galaxy that wheels the cosmos with other galaxies.  That big. Maybe even bigger.

A lot of us who were watching the events unfolding on TV have a lot of happy remembrances of that time. It was a time to look forward to being in space, to establishing careers in space science or as astronauts, astronomers, engineers, and more.  Far more than a “plant the flag, pick up a few rocks, and head home” mission that short-sighted and ignorant Apollo detractors since then have sneered about, the mission was a symbolic and scientific first step off Earth to another world.  It told us that we can do this thing. And, the memory of that singular accomplishment lives on.

Does it still mean a lot today?  I suggest that it does. It reminds us that humans can do great things when we put our minds to it. We can focus on things that aren’t war and hate and bigotry and misogyny and ignorance and religious strife and all the other things that humans do to and think about one another.  This is a good day to remember that we are not ignorant savages living by our wits and controlled by fear and hate.  We are better than that.  If Apollo 11 and its sister missions (including the Soviet-era missions) don’t teach us anything else than this one lesson, they’ll have been worth all the work, expense, sacrifice, and exhiliration. Without any of the successes on the Moon, I seriously doubt that any of the world’s space programs would be what they are today–for they were, at least in part, inspired by the lunar explorations of the 1960s and 70s.

astronomy, Jupiter

A New Dark Spot On Jupiter

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Planets Change!

Image of dark spot on Jupiter, captured by Anthony Wesley on July 19, 2009 at 1554UTC from Murrumebateman, Australia. Click to embiggenate.
Image of Jupiter with new dark spot in the southern polar regions, captured by Anthony Wesley on July 19, 2009 at 1554UTC from Murrumbateman, Australia. Click to embiggenate.

The big news today (July 19) is that Jupiter seems to have a dark spot in its south polar region.  The first images, posted by Australian amateur observer Anthony Wesley, ripped around the Web at the speed of light and have caught everybody’s attention.  Is this dark spot a storm? Evidence of some weather event stemming up from the lower atmosphere? An impact site?

The best way to tell would be image the planet in infrared, which I’m sure is happening as I write this. There are a number of infrared-enabled observatories that probably can look at this thing as a “target of opportunity.”

Regardless of what it is, observers will watch this thing as it rotates around the planet over the next few days to see track changes in its size and appearance.

This does look reminiscent of the impact sites created when pieces of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 smashed into the Jovian cloud tops in 1994.  As more astronomers look at this thing and follow its progress, we will certainly figure out whether or not this is an impact or a very cool new atmospheric feature forming in the upper cloud decks of the planet. Either way, it’s a great find for Anthony and a boon for planetary observers around the world.