Dining & Nightlife | Astronomy

Launched on July 28th, 1964, the Ranger 7 spacecraft provided mankind with the first close-up photographs of the lunar surface. Apollo 11 took off for the Moon on the 16th of July, 1969, just five years later. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins were aboard this historic third lunar voyage. Four days later, on the 20th of July, the Lunar Module “Eagle” landed in the Sea of Tranquility despite an overloaded computer (shades of Hal in Kubrick’s 2001) that threatened to abort the mission. Neil Armstrong took manual control of the Lunar Module about a thousand feet above the Moon’s surface in order to avoid boulders the size of cars. Once safely down on the Moon, the module’s crew collected Moon rocks, took photographs and planted the American flag. This is the historic mission where Neil Armstrong was heard to say the now-famous phrase, “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.”

It should be noted that space is of interest not only to the curious, adventurous or scientifically-minded, but is apparently also of great interest to wealthy history buffs, collectors and businessmen. Just last year, on July 16th, 2009, Bonhams’ first space history auction became the highest grossing space history auction ever. Among the items on the block were Apollo 13 flight plan sheets, charts, photographs and surface equipment.

There will be a new Moon on the 11th of July. A total eclipse of the Sun also falls on the 11th; however, we will not be able to see it from Long Island. The Full Moon graces the skies on July 26th.

On the 28th and 29th of July, the Southern Delta Aqaurids meteor shower will peak, with a rate of around 20 meteors per hour, but the view this year will be less than optimal as a result of the nearly-full Moon. Look for the meteors in the eastern skies after midnight. Some meteors associated with Delta Aquarids can be seen anytime from July 10th through August 18th.

Venus, Mars and Saturn will be early evening planets during the month of July. Look for Venus around dusk and for an hour or so thereafter; it will be one of the brightest objects to be seen setting in the western skies. Mars and Saturn set a little later on, trailing not far behind Venus. All three planets are worthy targets for a telescope.