In the movie The Thing, the reporter admonishes the world, "Look to the skies!" to watch for alien spacecraft. In 1610, Galileo did just that, but he wasn't looking for invaders from Mars. He looked to the stars and discovered four of Jupiter's moons. Today, Man may not have conquered the stars but those steps taken by Galileo, Copernicus, Huygens, and Cassini have enable him to take that "one small step."
July is the anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. It is also the International Year of Astronomy.
To celebrate this, NASA has organized science events this month to help the people of Earth connect with the vast glories of the universe. You may not discover a new planet or even an asteroid, but looking to the stars can help you discover the universe, out place in the heavens, and--perhaps, even something of your own destiny.
Two of the website to visit to begin your adventure:
http://wechoosethemoon.org/
http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov/
The moon website will take you on the adventure of Apollo 11, from just before blast-off to the Eagle landing. You can hear actual recordings, view photos and facts, plot the course of the spaceship, view a timeline of other events taking place that month, and--if you sit through the entire sequence, which takes about 90 minutes--print yourself a certificate verifying that you, too, have been to the moon.
I slept through the actual moon landing, didn't get to hear those historical words but I've listened to them many times since and to see them in their actual context is thrilling. To think about those three men out there in the airless, dangerous blackness of space in something not much larger than an automobile, a vehicle covered with thin sheets much similar to aluminum foil is frightening. Truly, they were brave and truly they went on an adventure not many will ever experience.
This is one way we earthbound can share in that an adventure, and no one should miss it.
