Landing on the Moon :July 20, 1969

[yuiyoshida]

[Lifelong Protester]

1. "The Eagle has Landed"

I recall hearing those words and learning from the newspaper how to take photos of your television screen (looooong before the Internet was available).

[Spitfire of ATJ]

2. I heard the landing was so smooth they could hardly feel it....

That's why you hear "Contact light?"

On Apollo 12 Pete Conrad switched off the engine the instant the contact light came on and there was an instant drop.

[LawnKorn]

3. Contact light?

The three strings hanging down from the LEM legs were sensors that detected when it was 10 feet above the surface. When one of them touched the moon, they had "Contact Light"

[Spitfire of ATJ]

12. Another version...

[drm604]

7. The actual physical contact may have been smooth

but the overall landing was pretty hairy. As they neared the surface the ground underneath them was covered with rocks and small craters. Armstrong had to take control away from the computer and pilot it manually. They only had about 15 seconds of fuel left when he finally found a safe place to land. They were very close to aborting.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

9. Not to mention the computer overloaded TWICE.

[LawnKorn]

4. Looking at the horizon of the moon in the videos

Does anyone see any stars out in space?

[Android3.14]

6. Some people use this apparent discrepancy as a means to promote a conspiracy theory

The truth is that we landed on the Moon, which high school students on Earth have proven countless times by bouncing a laser off of retroreflectors the astronauts planted on the Moon during the Apollo program (11, 14, and 15).

So why are there no stars in the images?

Cameras for these types of shots are set for daylight photography, and the Sun is at least as bright or brighter than it is at high noon on Earth. The light from the stars is far too dim to provide exposure, much like trying to see stars from a brightly lit parking lot at night. Most sunlit images from space wash out the stars.

Here is an example of the Mir space station and the Moon.

[malthaussen]

5. One of my favorite sites for the true nerd:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/apollo11.htm

-- Mal

[drm604]

8. I can never get enough of this stuff.

I remember when it happened. Then suddenly, we just stopped.

Hopefully we'll get to Mars in my lifetime.

I suspect that the Chinese space program may spur us on.

[zebonaut]

10. Now Astronauts could land using only an Apple Watch

I was effing 9 when they landed on the moon. Now I'm getting AARP junk mail.

[freshwest]

11. Up all night watching and listening. Took forever for them to get out of the far side.

And back into contact, it was very suspenseful. There'd been so many rocket failures over the years, it was worrisome. I don't know how many people stayed up that night as it was night where I lived, near NASA in Houston but in other time zones, it had to be daytime.

A relative worked at NASA all that time. There was a close knit group of families who were always anxious. A sense of unity bound many of us to the space program.

That night I did some artwork from pictures, where the Earth was seen from the Moon. The astronauts emphasized how the view made them love the Earth and realize that we were all one.



http://www.engology.com/Apollo11.html