There And Back Again

I am currently taking an Introduction to Astronomy class for the past six weeks and the class will conclude on July 31st. I have enjoyed this class and can safely say that its one of the funnest and most intriguing classes I have ever had the privileged of taking. I just wanted to post some cool pics and links to make you all aware that its the 40th Anniversary of the landing on the Moon. I am also taking a Cold War In Asia class and we have spoken of the Space Race the United States and Russia was engaged in during this time.

It was a huge accomplishment to be the first nation to successfully send a shuttle to the Moon and for American Astronauts to be the first to set foot on the Moon. There was a lot of national pride in being the first nation to accomplish this great feat. Aside from this amazing feat I have also found it interesting to note that there were actually three astronauts that made it to the Moon but for safety reasons only two were allowed to set foot on the Moon. How would you like to be that guy? Your name lost to the annuals of history and lost to the media blitz because you didn't actually set foot on the Moon even though you were there "babysitting" the shuttle insuring that the other two astronauts could make it home. Makes me wonder if they drew straws or something like that. But I am sure that it was still a huge honor to go and be apart of history none the less!

Neil Armstrong, Michael Collin, and Buzz Alderin

Check out these great website for more information about Apollo 11. We choose the Moon which is from the JFK Presidential Library and Museum and also this one from the Discovery Channel I found this short clip that I thought was really neat scroll to the bottom of the page and view the short video.

I also wanted to share these amazing pictures of the Moon with you all, hope you enjoy!

The far side of the Moon that we don't see since our Moon is locked in a synchronized rotation with the Earth. Pretty amazing, you can see how old the surface on the far side of the Moon is by the amount of craters and highlands that there are. The rough cratered material indicates older surface material whereas the smoother surface area which is called Maria or "Seas" indicates younger surface material. Maria is the areas in which craters crashed into the surface of the Moon and lava from below the surface flowed into the crevices, creating a smooth surface. Whereas the rougher surface area is from large craters bombarding the surface during the Moons birth.

The more recognizable side of the Moon that is familiar to us. Since the Moon has no atomosphere or plate tectonics, the only way to alter the surface is by a crater or object smashing into it and removing it. Such as the boot prints of the Astronauts will remain unless something crashes into the Moon near the boot print obleterating it. Since the Earth has plate tectonics and erosion the Earth's surface has changed over the course of its lifetime whereas the Moon looks much as it did from its creation.