| 24th of May 2019 |
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| 50th Anniversary of Apollo 10 |
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This week marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 10 mission.
As reviewed in
Hamish Lindsay's essay on the Honeysuckle Creek website,
the Lunar Module
flew low over the Sea of Tranquility. which had been chosen as the landing site for Apollo 11.
Tom Stafford noted, "The surface is actually very smooth, like a very wet clay... with the exception of the very big craters."
After the LM crew rejoined the CSM, the LM
was jettisoned and directed into an orbit around the Sun
(rather than crashed into the lunar surface).
After efforts over the last decade in attempting to locate the LM,
it was reported last month that it may possibly have been found!
Among the celebrations for the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the CSIRO Parkes Observatory will be holding Open Days on the anniversary weekend of 20-21 July 2019. The public is invited to visit the Observatory and enjoy activities including tours of the telescope, talks by special guest speakers and astronomers, daytime astronomy viewings of the brightest stars, planets and Sun by the members of the Central West Astronomical Society, and a screening of the film, The Dish, on the Saturday night, in the field adjacent to the telescope (weather permitting). (Image from www.honeysucklecreek.net) |