Venus is close to Moon.

Venus is close to Moon this time of the year. Check it out.

Jet in front of the moon!

Cool video:

Mars will NOT be as big as the Moon... E-mail hoaks

Image represents about 4 am CST from San Antonio, Texas looking West on Jan. 29th.

No the planet Mars will not be as big as the moon. You'd be amazed at how many times people at public star parties come up to me and say with complete confidence that Mars will be as large, as close as the moon. I don't know who started this rumor but I've been hearing that line from the general public at star parties for years. On January 29, 2009 Mars will be at its closest approach to Earth and its face will be fully illuminated by the Sun. This is the best time to view and photograph Mars. But sorry is isn't going to be as big as the moon in the sky.

Earth Eclipse seen from Moon.

Solar eclipse as seen from Japan's Kaguya Lunar Orbiter.

Looking at the Moon- Video for Beginners

Apollo 15's Landing Site

Video takes a look at the landing site of Apollo 15 and compares photos from the Apollo mission to that of ones taken by Japanese Lunar Satellite Kyuga (launched Sept. 2007).

Video- Moon Photos

LRCROSS - Get Your Telescopes Ready!

The LCROSS mission is basically every boys dream.."smashing stuff". NASA is smashing a satellite into the moon, literally.

According to NASA's LCROSS Page:
"Projected lunar impact is on October 9, 2009 at 11:30 UT (7:30 a.m. EDT, 4:30 a.m. PDT), +/- 30 minutes.

The impact time will be refined as the mission progresses. Two weeks prior to impact, the impact time will be known to within a second.
Check back on this webpage for the most up-to-date timing information."

With that said we still have over a month to wait. Now is the time to start planning and researching how you (YES YOU) can help with data collection for the LCROSS Project right from your backyard.

This is what NASA says about your involvement: "Mission scientists estimate that the Centaur impact plume may be visible through amateur-class telescopes with apertures as small as 10 to 12 inches. The LCROSS mission will actively solicit images of the impact from the public. These images will provide a valuable addition to the archive of data chronicling the impact and its aftermath...To participate in the LCROSS Amateur Observation Campaign, visit the LCROSS_Observation group."

Star planning and practicing those lunar photos.

Apollo 11 - Forty Years Later and In Real Time

If you don't know July 20, 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon and the first steps on the moon.

NASA has something really special planned in celebration of this event, a virtual time capsule of audio. You can listen in "REAL TIME" plus 40 years to "live" streaming audio of the entire mission via the internet. So get your computers, PSPs, PS3's, iPhones and other webdevices ready and you can listen.

After July 20, 2009 you you can listen to audio from pre-launch, launch, orbit, on the way to the moon, to the landing, walk, and back at your own pace.

So take a walk back in time. Have a computer on in the background like the old AM radio of 40 years ago and let your imagination run wild.

Listen here:
http://wechoosethemoon.org/


Some historic Videos




Some video on the current Apollo 11 video Restoration project:


Future of Moon Exploration - SkyNews Australia "Spaceflight analyst and author of 'The New Moon Race' Dr. Morris Jones talks about America's goal to return to the moon by 2020 and China and India's space ambitions."


Unique Look into Apollo 11 from Down Under:
Sky News' Kieran Gilbert talks to the staff of the Honeysuckle Tracking Station and the role they played in mankind's giant leap.
(video broken into parts)

Part I


Part 2


Part 3


Part 4 and final video