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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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July 20th, 2007 at 10:04 am
W00t!
July 20th, 2007 at 10:19 am
Very cool, because it was Apollo 11, and I was 11 years old on that date. Always a great event to celebrate my birthday! (Now, if only they’d make it a holiday…)
July 20th, 2007 at 10:25 am
After having watched the launch of Apollo 11 from up close (the VIP section) I enjoyed watching the landing on television with members of the launch team at our home in Cocoa Beach. They were moved obviously, and little did I know at the tender age of 8 that I was not only witnessing a historical moment of profound importance I was also watching the professional hopes and dreams of their careers happen before their eyes. While history rightly focuses on Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins, it should also more than briefly mention the tens of thousands of men and women who poured their hearts and souls into the space program. Without their contributions, none of what happened 38 years ago today would ever have to pass.
July 20th, 2007 at 10:44 am
What can be said that hasn’t already been said? A mere 66 years after heavier than air flight was begun we land on the moon. From 120 feet to 240,000 miles. Quite an achievement. In my opinion, one of the greatest achievements in all mankind. And to think, it wasn’t war (at least a hot one) that was the impetus behind this, but it was competition. No shooting, and only (only?!?) a few deaths but that’s what you have to risk in pushing the envelope. Not only that, but the space race gave rise to a number of technologies that may have been years farther down the road, including the computer I’m using. Happy day!
July 20th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Heh, just wrote about that myself, both on my site and the blog I write for my local astronomy club.
I plan on going out tonight and looking at the moon, right about 10.56pm.
It’s a fun fact that the moon was a wide crescent 38 years ago also (just a little thinner).
July 20th, 2007 at 11:06 am
I wish I could have been there to have watched it live – in studio.
Kidding
July 20th, 2007 at 11:18 am
As amazing as that is, I have to say that I’m saddened that we haven’t been back in over 30 years. Which means to say that the only moon landings I’ve ever seen have been on the History Channel.
Pretty depressing actually.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:22 am
I was there but wish I had been aware enough to understand what was going on. My mom, on the other hand, was watching the moonwalk on TV–while she was in the delivery room giving birth to me.
I was also too young to remember the subsequent missions to the moon. Hopefully, men (and women) will again walk on the surface of the moon someday.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:38 am
…and if you want the true, unedited version of the landing don’t forget the Onion.
http://www.theneweditor.com/index.php?/archives/4085-The-Onion-Moon-Landing.html
NSFW or if you have dainty sensibilities (language)
July 20th, 2007 at 11:55 am
I remember my mom dragged me in front of the tv to watch the landing, I was 9. She said, “You’ll thank me later, this is important”.
Thanks mom!
July 20th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Apollo 11 is my VERY FIRST MEMORY! Actually, what I remember is my dad setting up a camera to take pictures of the television which I thought was silly. Hey, I was 2! The fact that I remember anything of that day is pretty amazing! I do remember getting to stay up way past my bedtime to watch Apollo 17.
Rob
July 20th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Wish I had been alive, but I’ve watched it so many times on DVD and the History Channel that I might as well have been.
Truly the greatest achievement in history.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
I also wish that I was old enough to have been aware of what was going on (I was 2) and wish that I could have experienced the build up to it, that actualization of it, and the celebration afterward. I do remember landings in the ocean from when I was fairly little, I assume that those were from moon landings, and my mother always pointed out the frogmen to me. I did make sure to watch the first Enterprise flight though! Not as exciting but I’ll take what I can get these days…
July 20th, 2007 at 1:17 pm
Gnat, what’s depressing isn’t that we haven’t been back yet (though that is a bummer). What’s depressing is that there’s a whole discussion thread going on at Yahoo right now about why we haven’t been back and over half the people think it’s becuase the whole thing was a hoax! THAT’S depressing.
July 20th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
Hey,
there is another The German. I am the_original.
The moon landing is my first TV memory. Even though I was only 4 and a half year old. I remeber we all gathered in our neighbours house. At that time I was not really sure what I saw there.
My next TV memory is Apollo 13. Since then I am fascinated by space exploration. Time to go back! I hope this time we will join in.
Phil I hope you agree if I recommend your site in the next newsletter I prepare for my company. Finally the moon hoaxers have arrived here in Germany. In the July issue of the German “Scientific American” there was an editorial about a scientist who was involved into a discussion in a “Weinstube” in Heidelberg about how many men were on the moon or how many times there was a landing. They ended up with half of the people in that place saying they don’t believe we have been there at all! (”You can read it in the internet”). The other half thought it was only one time!!
July 20th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
First words were:
“Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.”
Or even maybe “Contact light”?
I was a student and watched at home with my family. The scratchy pictures were frustrating but the occasion was historically significant. And we all knew it. First human on another celestial body. You only do that once. Happy memory. I just wish we would get on with it and do the job properly. In England the “one small step” was spoken on 21st July 1969 because of time zone differences.
July 20th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
A lot of people only see or remember the edited clip, where it looks like Armstrong takes that long leap down the ladder, then immediately says his line.
NASA has the original clip. Armstrong actually hopped down to the LANDING PAD, then a few seconds later leaned to the side, gently pressed his foot in the dust, and said his famous quote.
July 20th, 2007 at 3:32 pm
being 4 at the time, Apollo 11 is the first thing I acually remember.
I was hooked immediately, still today pursuing a career in the aerospace sector.
On the other hand, it is enormously frustrating that, for a man my age, the first thing he remebers is also the grandest he remembers.
Philip
P.S. since nobody mentioned it, check out the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/frame.html
July 20th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
I was four and a half, and although I’ve always told myself I “remember” the landing I find I’m not so sure now, and wonder if my memories are actually just memories of new footage and documentaries shown afterwards…
http://journals.aol.com/stuartatk/Cumbrian-Sky/entries/2007/07/19/38-years-since-the-eagle-landed…/2801
July 20th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
If you can, listen to the audio of the landing. Considering the tense situation in Eagle and in Houston, it’s astonishing that the voices are as even as they are. As Armstrong spotted a landing site and urgently tried to maneuver the craft to land, Aldrin professionally relayed the stats to the world. Although Aldrin often spoke in shorthand, the folks on the ground were so familiar with the lingo that they knew what he was saying. Eagle had already been ruled “go” on two computer-based alarms, and was less than 1000 feet above the surface, but fuel was running out:
Aldrin: 35 degrees. 35 degrees. 750 [feet above the surface]. Coming down at 23 [feet per second]. 700 feet, 21 down. 33 degrees. 600 feet, down at 19 … 540 feet … 400 … 350 down at 4 … We’re pegged on horizontal velocity. 300 feet, down 3 and a half … a minute. Got the shadow out there … altitude-velocity lights. 3 and a half down, 220 feet. 13 forward. 11 forward, coming down nicely … 75 feet, things looking good.
Houston: 60 seconds [of fuel remaining].
Aldrin: Lights on. Down 2 and a half. Forward. Forward. Good. 40 feet, down 2 and a half. Picking up some dust. 30 feet, 2 and a half down. Faint shadow. 4 forward. Drifting to the right a little.
Houston: 30 seconds.
Aldrin: Drifting right. Contact light [illuminated indicating first contact with the lunar surface]. Okay, engine stop. [Armstrong and Aldrin proceed through the brief engine shutdown sequence.]
Houston: We copy you [are] down [on the surface], Eagle.
Armstrong: Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.
Houston: Roger, Tranquility [almost choking on the word], we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue [holding their breath to see if Eagle could land before reaching its fuel limit]. We’re breathin’ again, thanks a lot!
Sometimes, folks, nothing is more dramatic than real life!
(For fun imagine that you were there, in that vehicle, with all the pressure on you and your ass on the line; and several years later, some loudmouthed bozo confronts you and says you never did it. What would YOU do?)
July 20th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
The rock group I was with at the time was playing that night. We were on stage at the time of the landing – the dance floor was almost deserted because nearly everyone was in the back room watching the TV! I remember the manager coming in, taking the microphone & announcing to the few dancers (& the hardened drinkers at the bar) ‘They’ve landed.’
Fortunately it was a local gig so we were able to pack up & dash home in time to see Armstrong stepping onto the Moon’s surface.
July 21st, 2007 at 2:11 am
I was 5YO, and I remember my mother pointing to the TV and telling me excitedly, “Look! Man on the Moon!”, but I was singularly unimpressed because they didn’t beam down to the surface like in Star Trek.
My opinion of the feat has changed somewhat since then, of course. I just wish we would go back.
But I’d still like to see a Transporter…
July 21st, 2007 at 2:34 am
Look at that: So many 4 to 5 years old guys here! Looks as if this really impressed us. I wonder how many of us have a scientific or engineering degree. Would be interesting to know. I have a degree in physics, what about you? I bet this hat some influence.
@Brown: Thank you for posting this. As a none native English speaker I never got everything even though I watched it maybe 10 times or so! You are right! Sometimes real life is more dramatic than everything else
July 21st, 2007 at 8:00 am
I just have to comment on this one! I was between 8th and 9th grade when Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. That would have made me 13 I think. I remember that night so vividly. My father was in the Air Force and stationed in Taiwan (it was his last isolated tour before he retired) and my mom and I were in Wisconsin, sitting on the couch watching without blinking or breathing. When we heard “the eagle has landed”, we both exhaled and said WOW at the same time. I dont ever remember being so excited by anything on TV. It is one of those watershed moments where I felt so proud of my country and grateful that we had this incredible organization of people called NASA. It may be the last time I ever felt that way.
In any case, I was already into science fiction and the sciences but remember deciding at that moment that I was going to work in that industry some day. Here I am at 52 and I work in the aerospace industry for Raytheon Intelligence and Information Systems. I may not be a scientist or engineer, but I play my part and have for almost 25 years. I still look back on the Apollo program as the greatest acheivement of our time. There were so many people pushing the envelop as it were in order to accomplish a very difficult and dangerous task and because of all their total dedication to the end goal, we actually landed men on another planet. Unfortunately, we haven’t been willing or able to repeat this extraordinary event. We could have been to Mars a long time ago if it weren’t for all the mean little things that have stood in the way. Things like War, Politics, Religion, Stupidity, Bigotry, and Thinking SMALL.
July 22nd, 2007 at 10:15 am
[...] Plait reminds us that 38 years ago, Neil Armstrong was the first person in history to set foot on another [...]
July 22nd, 2007 at 9:35 pm
I remember this well. It was my 4th birthday and my parents let me stay up for it
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:17 am
I was 10. My mum didn’t quite get the enormity of it, or so it seemed to me – even though I’d finished school for the summer, I really had to work on her so I could stay up past my bedtime to watch the landing and all the rest of the program about it – till midnight (UK time) IIRC, since the BBC was going to be broadcasting late. No 24-hour broadcasting back then
Then they changed the plan. NASA and the astronauts, I mean.
James Burke (yes, that James Burke) was one of the presenters at the BBC that night, and listening to the talk between Houston and Tranquility Base he realised they’d brought the EVA forward, and Armstrong and Aldrin were getting ready to get out there onto the moon, hours before it was scheduled.
He spoke to the heads of the BBC and persuaded them to keep broadcasting, to cover the event live. Somehow, I managed to persuade my mum to let me stay up even later to watch it… so that’s where I was at 4am British Summer Time, July 21: about a foot from the TV, sound turned way down so I wouldn’t disturb anyone else in the house. Glorious!
Any other night I’d have been excited just because I was staying up even a few minutes late, but somehow I forgot about that
July 25th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
I’ve got a problem. I cannot precisely remember exactly where I was or what I was doing as the Moon Landing ensued. I do know that I was on duty at various times during the ML, and in fact during the whole Apollo 11 moonshot. I was a staff member at the ABC Radio Studios in Sydney, Australia. We had the responsibility to provide the sound component for the whole venture, as it was routed through a specially set-up Studio, from the Earth Station, and subsequently to our Network Studios and in fact to other Broadcasters. This was a round-the-clock event, and I do recall being involved in feeding boxes of tapes to recorders for archival purposes, and of course to compile sound grabs for subsequent news broadcasts.
But I also seem to remember that I saw some TV coverage at home during that morning, on the 21st as it was in Australia, (but I could be recalling just News coverage, as you appreciate it was wall-to-wall everywhere).
I will have to find my old roster diary for the times to convince me otherwise.
Still it was a signicant event, and feel privileged to have been even connected, albiet superficially, to an event in world human endeavor.
Ivan.
July 26th, 2007 at 12:01 am
[...] course it would be Phil who would remind me: today is the 38th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. I remember lying on my [...]
July 26th, 2007 at 7:29 am
That funny man in the white suit. I was a baby back then. My parents said that I was pretty amused. Though I doubt that at 10 months I was able to understand anything.
August 5th, 2007 at 9:24 pm
[...] course it would be Phil who would remind me: today is the 38th anniversary of the first manned landing on the moon. I remember lying on my [...]
October 1st, 2007 at 10:02 am
“One small step for Man, one giant leap for Mankind.”
“Man” in this context is abstract. What would have made it concrete is “a man” (One small step for *a* man, one giant leap for Mankind”. The truth is there. “A man” did NOT step on the Moon– an abstraction of man DID: “Man”. In other words, a man landing on the Moon was FALSE. BUT, the illusion (belief different from reality) of a man (Man) did land simply because it is believed.
Also, if you play the famous line backwards, you get: “man never spacewalk”. It’s true.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:30 am
After watching the film Moonwalk One-The Director’s Cut, I can’t believe that anyone would think this was a hoax.
Moonwalk One-The Director’s Cut is an amazing account of the Apollo 11 space mission in which man first walked on the moon! Not only does it capture the scientific accomplishments, but it also serves as an outstanding time capsule of society at the time and their reactions!
Forty years later, it turns out that the original director, Theo Kamecke, has the only pristine copy of the original 35mm film. Never before released to the public for home viewing, the film has been restored to a spectacular high-definition wide screen masterpiece with an all new soundtrack!
Make sure to get your copy in time for the 40th anniversary of man walking on the moon! I got my copy at http://www.amazon.com, and you can also order it at http://www.amazon.co.uk and http://www.moonwalk.com. This is a great film for students, teachers, enthusiasts, families, and more. No matter your interest, this film will not be a bore!
Best wishes,
Lauren