A Busy Week for Skywatchers

Last Monday marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon, an event schoolkids will read about a thousand years from now, after most of the trivia and follies of the 20th century have turned to dust.

There were just 66 years between the first flight of the Wright brother’s wood-and-cloth glider with a strapped-on 30 horsepower engine to the 3,300 ton Saturn V rocket that carried Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins to the moon.  The event still staggers the imagination.

And in the last 40 years… what?  Not much in terms of manned spaceflight.  Perhaps that’s what amazes me most of all about the moon landings: that we lost interest in such achievements so quickly.  Not sure if it’s true, but I’ve read the moon landings are one of the few historical technological achievements that we cannot repeat, even if we wanted too.  The full complement of know-how and infrastructure to put humans on the moon no longer exists.

But take heart.  Though it will be a long time until astronauts walk on the Moon or Mars, there were (and are) dozens of unmanned spacecraft exploring the solar system.  Every planet has been explored to some extent.  Even Pluto will get a visit by the New Horizons spacecraft in 2015.  And the Pioneer 10, 11 and the Voyager 1 spacecraft are venturing beyond the solar system into interstellar space.  Voyager 1 will have enough power to continue radio transmission to Earth until 2025, 48 years after it was launched.  Darned impressive.

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On July 22, the moon passed between the Earth and the sun, causing a total solar eclipse.  Visible in a narrow band from China and India and into the Pacific Ocean, the eclipse passed right over the city of Shanghai.  Millions looked up to see one of the most magnificent sights in nature.  Here’s a video of the event from an Indian news agency.

Solar eclipses occur when the moon is “new”.  The eclipse happened more than 2 days ago, which means the moon is now a waxing crescent and perfectly positioned for summer viewing with a telescope or binoculars.  You can discover more about the moon’s movements and surface features with Lunar Phase Pro.

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And an unexpected even this week… something big crashed into Jupiter.  Australian amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley discovered the impact site with his 14.5-inch telescope and imaging system.  He almost missed the discovery when he went back inside to watch the British Open golf tournament.  But his work ethic prevailed.  Here’s a link to Wesley’s image of the impact.  It was likely a small comet or asteroid that hit Jupiter, dredging up material from the planet’s lower atmosphere.

You can see Jupiter for yourself in the southeastern sky after 11 p.m. or so.  It’s the brightest thing in that part of the sky.  You’ll likely not see the impact site, however, at least not visually.  But as Wesley’s discovery proves, there are many unexpected and beautiful things for amateur stargazers to discover.

Next week… the “Mars Hoax”; and we’ll start a series of short articles on how to safely observe the Sun.