alactic Observer John J. McCarthy Observatory G Volume 12, No. 7/8 July/August 2019 Footprints on the Moon The John J. McCarthy Observatory Galactic Observvvererer New Milford High School Editorial Committee 388 Danbury Road Managing Editor New Milford, CT 06776 Bill Cloutier Phone/Voice: (860) 210-4117 Phone/Fax: (860) 354-1595 Production & Design www.mccarthyobservatory.org Allan Ostergren Website Development JJMO Staff Marc Polansky It is through their efforts that the McCarthy Observatory has established itself as a significant educational and Technical Support recreational resource within the western Connecticut Bob Lambert community. Dr. Parker Moreland Steve Barone Peter Gagne Marc Polansky Colin Campbell Louise Gagnon Joe Privitera Dennis Cartolano John Gebauer Danielle Ragonnet Route Mike Chiarella Elaine Green Monty Robson Jeff Chodak Jim Johnstone Don Ross Bill Cloutier Carly KleinStern Gene Schilling Doug Delisle Bob Lambert Katie Shusdock Cecilia Detrich Roger Moore Jim Wood Dirk Feather Parker Moreland, PhD Paul Woodell Randy Fender Allan Ostergren Amy Ziffer In This Issue "OUT THE WINDOW ON YOUR LEFT" ............................... 4 REFERENCES ON DISTANCES ............................................ 28 APOLLO 11 LANDING SITE ............................................... 5 INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION/IRIDIUM SATELLITES .......... 28 SATURN AT OPPOSITION ................................................... 6 LAGRANGE POINTS ........................................................ 28 SEARCH FOR SNOOPY ...................................................... 7 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 29 MOLE RESCUE ............................................................... 7 NASA'S GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE RESOURCE ............... 29 LUNAR MANTLE REVEALED? ........................................... 8 FRONT PAGE GRAPHIC ................................................... 29 DEEP IMPACT ................................................................. 8 CONTACT INFORMATION ................................................. 39 DEMISE OF THE RED SPOT? ............................................. 9 LAGRANGE POINTS ........................................................ 41 MARS HELICOPTER ....................................................... 10 SOLAR ACTIVITY ........................................................... 41 FIRST WHEELED VEHICLE ON MOON ............................... 10 CONTACT INFORMATION ................................................. 42 SPACE SHUTTLE LEGACY ................................................ 11 APOLLO 11 50 YEARS .................................................... 18 ENTERPRISE .................................................................. 12 JULY/AUGUST GRAPHIC CALENDARS ................................ 19 DISCOVERY ................................................................... 13 ENDEAVOUR .................................................................. 13 ATLANTIS ..................................................................... 14 LOST ORBITERS ............................................................ 15 SPACE SHUTTLE MEMORIAL ............................................ 15 PLANNING YOUR VISIT ................................................... 16 SUMMER ACTIVITIES ...................................................... 16 JUPITER AND ITS MOONS ................................................. 18 ASTRONOMICAL AND HISTORICAL EVENTS ......................... 20 COMMONLY USED TERMS ............................................... 28 2 July-Aug 2019 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org July and August Calendar and Space Exploration Almanac http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org JJMO July-Aug 2019 • 3 fuel for the third stage. Technicians seconds all five engines were up “Out the Window working on the third stage, 120 feet and running, producing a com- on Your Left” (37 meters) below the CM, were bined thrust of 7.5 million pounds. able to bypass the valve so that the Once released by the launch pad’s ifty years ago, on July 16, 1969, countdown could proceed.Mare Serenitatis restraining hold-down arms, the Fastronaut Neil Armstrong rode Approximately one hour prior Saturn V began to slowly rise, tak- the high-speed elevator to the 320- to launch, the crew in the White ing 10 seconds to clear the launch foot level of the mobile launch pad Room departed, and Swing-Arm 9 tower. The six-million-pound and crossed the access walkway on was moved back 5 feet (1.5 rocket accelerated as it climbed Swing Arm 9, entering the White meters). The swing arm maintained into the Florida sky. Approximately Room. Assisted by a team of tech- this relatively-close position until 2-1/2 minutes later, the five F-1 nicians, Commander Armstrong the 5-minute mark (before launch) engines had carried the rocket to in the event that the astronauts had an altitude of 38 miles, exhausting to rapidly exit the spacecraft. more than 500,000 gallons of fuel At T-9 seconds, the valves on and oxidizer. After the expended the liquid oxygen feed lines first stage dropped off, the five J-2 opened. Liquid oxygen entered the engines on the rocket’s second Saturn V’s F-1 engine’s main thrust stage were ignited. Fueled by liq- chamber first, followed by the uid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, kerosene fuel (the fuel tank’s 10 the second stage carried the re- fuel-suction lines were capable of maining payload to an altitude of releasing 1,350 gallons of kerosene 115 miles in about six minutes. every second to the five engines). With its fuel consumed, the second The center F-1 engine was started stage dropped off. The rocket’s first, followed by engines 1 and 3, third stage single J-2 engine then and then engines 4 and 2. Within ignited for the first time, acceler- entered through the Command Aldrin's boot print in the Module’s (CM) hatch approxi- lunar regolith. Credit: NASA mately 2-1/2 hours before liftoff, taking the left seat. He was followed by CM Pilot Michael Collins, who took the right seat and Lunar Module (LM) Pilot Buzz Aldrin, who took the center seat. Inside the spacecraft, Astronaut Fred Haise, the back-up CM Pilot, was in the lower equipment bay, assisting the prime crew through the preliminary checks. Haise exited the spacecraft around 7:30 am (EDT) and the technicians began the process of closing the spacecraft’s hatch about 2 hours prior to launch. The countdown proceeded with only minor problems reported - none with the spacecraft. A communication problem with the pad was quickly remedied. Another problem involved a leaky valve in a system that replenished hydrogen 4 July-Aug 2019 JJMO http://www.mccarthyobservatory.org ating the spacecraft to an orbital minute descent to the lunar surface. with a boulder-covered floor. Fly- velocity (17,500 mph). Five seconds into the descent, the ing past the crater, Armstrong Once in orbit, the three first of five alarms sounded within looked for a safe place to set the astronauts and the engineers and the cabin, indicating that the LM down while Aldrin called out technicians in mission control, spacecraft’s navigation computer critical instrument data (including completed a thorough checkout of was overloaded and rebooting. remaining fuel). The Sun was the spacecraft. On the second (Due to an error in the checklist, climbing into the pitch-black sky orbit of the Earth, approximately the astronauts had placed the and was just 12.5 degrees above 3 hours after liftoff, mission switch for the rendezvous radar in the horizon. The low Sun cast long control approved trans-lunar injec- the wrong position – placing de- shadows that accented the rugged tion. The third stage’s J-2 engine mands on the computer that inter- terrain. At 250 feet, Buzz Aldrin restarted, and burned for slightly fered with the computer’s other, spotted the LM’s shadow on the over 5 minutes. This increased the more critical landing tasks). lunar landscape below. At 100 feet spacecraft’s velocity from 17,500 At 500 feet, Armstrong took above the surface, Aldrin called out mph to 24,500 mph and raised its manual control of the LM once it to Armstrong that the fuel indica- orbit so as to intercept the moon was clear that the LM’s automatic tor was at 5% which triggered the (the moon at launch was approxi- landing system was carrying the 90 second abort clock back at Mis- mately 240,000 miles away and spacecraft towards a large crater sion Control in Houston. Less than traveling at 38 miles per minute through space). Apollo 11 Landing Site Fifteen minutes later, the Command/Service Module (CSM) separated from the third stage, turned around, and docked with the LM stowed inside a conical adapter atop the third stage. The CSM/LM then moved away from the third stage and the third stage’s engine restarted for the second time to send the rocket stage into a helio- centric orbit. Two and one-half days after liftoff, the CSM/LM passed the point in its trajectory where the Earth’s gravitational influence di- minished and the moon’s gravita- tional influence grew. Fourteen hours later, the CSM/LM passed behind the moon. The Service Module’s engine was then used to slow the spacecraft, allowing it to be captured by the moon. Almost a day after entering or- bit around the moon, Armstrong and Aldrin undocked the LM from the CSM. Less than 90 minutes later, a 30-second burn of the LM’s descent stage engine transferred the spacecraft into a 50,000-foot descent orbit. At 4:05 pm (EDT), the LM’s descent stage engine was Photo: Bill Cloutier ignited again, initiating a