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What the Astronaut saw.
"You develop an instant global consciousness, a people orientation, an intense dissatisfaction with the state of the world, and a compulsion to do something about it. From out there on the moon, international politics look so petty. You want to grab a politician by the scruff of the neck and drag him a quarter of a million miles out and say, 'Look at that, you son of a bitch.'" ― Edgar D. Mitchell
102 replies
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= new reply since forum marked as read
from so far away. How can people tell US from THEM without being able to see the lines that "protect" us. 
View from Gemini IX: Peru-Brazil, Amazon Basin, Ucayali River System
"As I looked down, I saw a large river meandering slowly along for miles, passing from one country to another without stopping. I also saw huge forests, extending along several borders. And I watched the extent of one ocean touch the shores of separate continents. Two words leaped to mind as I looked down on all this: commonality and interdependence. We are one world." --John-David Bartoe, astronaut Shuttle Mission STS 51-F
"As I looked down, I saw a large river meandering slowly along for miles, passing from one country to another without stopping. I also saw huge forests, extending along several borders. And I watched the extent of one ocean touch the shores of separate continents. Two words leaped to mind as I looked down on all this: commonality and interdependence. We are one world." --John-David Bartoe, astronaut Shuttle Mission STS 51-F
I can't believe that I forgot what colors France and Germany are.
Feels weird. 
"I could have gone on flying through space forever."
Like a red flag to you, eh?
Required reading back in my psychedelic days. 
He is one of the most important writers influencing my formative years. The other two are Gary Snyder and Norman O Brown.
Just sayin'
It's feeling a LOT like World War III these days.
Talkin' World War III Blues
Some time ago a crazy dream came to me
I dreamt I was walkin’ into World War Three
I went to the doctor the very next day
To see what kinda words he could say
He said it was a bad dream
I wouldn’t worry ’bout it none, though
They were my own dreams and they’re only in my head
I said, “Hold it, Doc, a World War passed through my brain”
He said, “Nurse, get your pad, this boy’s insane”
He grabbed my arm, I said, “Ouch!”
As I landed on the psychiatric couch
He said, “Tell me about it”
Well, the whole thing started at 3 o’clock fast
It was all over by quarter past
I was down in the sewer with some little lover
When I peeked out from a manhole cover
Wondering who turned the lights on
Well, I got up and walked around
And up and down the lonesome town
I stood a-wondering which way to go
I lit a cigarette on a parking meter and walked on down the road
It was a normal day
Well, I rung the fallout shelter bell
And I leaned my head and I gave a yell
“Give me a string bean, I’m a hungry man”
A shotgun fired and away I ran
I don’t blame them too much though, I know I look funny
Down at the corner by a hot-dog stand
I seen a man
I said, “Howdy friend, I guess there’s just us two”
He screamed a bit and away he flew
Thought I was a Communist
Well, I spied a girl and before she could leave
“Let’s go and play Adam and Eve”
I took her by the hand and my heart it was thumpin’
When she said, “Hey man, you crazy or sumpin’
You see what happened last time they started”
Well, I seen a Cadillac window uptown
And there was nobody aroun’
I got into the driver’s seat
And I drove down 42nd Street
In my Cadillac. Good car to drive after a war
Well, I remember seein’ some ad
So I turned on my Conelrad
But I didn’t pay my Con Ed bill
So the radio didn’t work so well
Turned on my record player—
It was Rock-a-day Johnny singin’, “Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa
Our Love’s A-gonna Grow Ooh-wah, Ooh-wah”
I was feelin’ kinda lonesome and blue
I needed somebody to talk to
So I called up the operator of time
Just to hear a voice of some kind
“When you hear the beep it will be three o’clock”
She said that for over an hour
And I hung up
Well, the doctor interrupted me just about then
Sayin’, “Hey I’ve been havin’ the same old dreams
But mine was a little different you see
I dreamt that the only person left after the war was me
I didn’t see you around”
Well, now time passed and now it seems
Everybody’s having them dreams
Everybody sees themselves
Walkin’ around with no one else
Half of the people can be part right all of the time
Some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
“I’ll let you be in my dreams if I can be in yours”
I said that
-- Bob Dylan
PS: You are most welcome, John1956PA! Have you seen this archive of the Mercury-Gemini-Apollo mission photos?
http://tothemoon.ser.asu.edu/
“Look again at that dot. That's here. That's home. That's us. On it everyone you love, everyone you know, everyone you ever heard of, every human being who ever was, lived out their lives. The aggregate of our joy and suffering, thousands of confident religions, ideologies, and economic doctrines, every hunter and forager, every hero and coward, every creator and destroyer of civilization, every king and peasant, every young couple in love, every mother and father, hopeful child, inventor and explorer, every teacher of morals, every corrupt politician, every "superstar," every "supreme leader," every saint and sinner in the history of our species lived there-on a mote of dust suspended in a sunbeam.
The Earth is a very small stage in a vast cosmic arena. Think of the endless cruelties visited by the inhabitants of one corner of this pixel on the scarcely distinguishable inhabitants of some other corner, how frequent their misunderstandings, how eager they are to kill one another, how fervent their hatreds. Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot.
Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves.
The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand.
It has been said that astronomy is a humbling and character-building experience. There is perhaps no better demonstration of the folly of human conceits than this distant image of our tiny world. To me, it underscores our responsibility to deal more kindly with one another, and to preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
― Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
Can you point it out in this picture that Voyager I took back in 1990?
Every time I am reminded that Dr. Sagan is no longer with this, I get a bit misty myself.
What Exactly Was Carl Sagan Working on with the U.S. Military?
Keith Veronese
iO9, 12/17/12
EXCERPT...
Sagan and Project Blue Book
The majority of Sagan's contact with the military came as a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board beginning in 1966. Sagan lectured at Harvard at this time in his life, but would soon depart to become Associate Professor of Astronomy in the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell after being denied tenure by Harvard.
At this time in his career, Sagan had already begun to publish his suppositions about the atmosphere of Venus and became a member of the fringe in the eyes of many thanks to his ruminations on the possibility of intelligent life in the universe. Sagan also played a role in advising the U.S. Space Program, a program synonymous with military applications during the Cold War era.
Sagan allegedly received $800 per day (roughly $4500 in current dollars), an astounding sum for a university lecturer, to act as a consultant for the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. The United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board began in 1944 as a secret program with a variety of missions, including determining the possibility of using atomic energy in jet propulsion as well as non-traditional use of nuclear weapons.
Sagan's military contact revolved around Project Blue Book, a 23-year study of UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force that ceased in January of 1970. Project Blue Book took a systematic approach to the study of unidentified flying objects, analyzing possible UFO data and aiming to determine if these objects were a danger to United States national security.
Within the two-decade-plus report are 12,618 "sightings", with analysis leaving a mere 700 classified as unidentified. The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, however concluded that Project Blue Book did not meet necessary rigors, suggesting a university-led study of unidentified flying objects would be far more conclusive.
CONTINUED w/links, videos, etc....
http://io9.com/5968239/what-exactly-was-carl-sagan-working-on-with-the-us-military
Keith Veronese
iO9, 12/17/12
EXCERPT...
Sagan and Project Blue Book
The majority of Sagan's contact with the military came as a member of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board beginning in 1966. Sagan lectured at Harvard at this time in his life, but would soon depart to become Associate Professor of Astronomy in the Center for Radiophysics and Space Research at Cornell after being denied tenure by Harvard.
At this time in his career, Sagan had already begun to publish his suppositions about the atmosphere of Venus and became a member of the fringe in the eyes of many thanks to his ruminations on the possibility of intelligent life in the universe. Sagan also played a role in advising the U.S. Space Program, a program synonymous with military applications during the Cold War era.
Sagan allegedly received $800 per day (roughly $4500 in current dollars), an astounding sum for a university lecturer, to act as a consultant for the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board. The United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board began in 1944 as a secret program with a variety of missions, including determining the possibility of using atomic energy in jet propulsion as well as non-traditional use of nuclear weapons.
Sagan's military contact revolved around Project Blue Book, a 23-year study of UFOs conducted by the United States Air Force that ceased in January of 1970. Project Blue Book took a systematic approach to the study of unidentified flying objects, analyzing possible UFO data and aiming to determine if these objects were a danger to United States national security.
Within the two-decade-plus report are 12,618 "sightings", with analysis leaving a mere 700 classified as unidentified. The Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, however concluded that Project Blue Book did not meet necessary rigors, suggesting a university-led study of unidentified flying objects would be far more conclusive.
CONTINUED w/links, videos, etc....
http://io9.com/5968239/what-exactly-was-carl-sagan-working-on-with-the-us-military
I miss him and many, many more friends, RoccoR5955. Remember Jack Horkheimer of the Miami Planetarium? "Keep looking up!" I had the privilege of speaking with him a couple of times, long ago.
Planet earth from beyond the far side of the moon.
Mankind's Rarest View: Earth from Afar
Space travelers recall what the planet looks like from above
By Seth Borenstein
AP, April 21, 2007
EXCERPT...
The first full view of Earth came from the moon-bound Apollo 8 during the waning days of a chaotic 1968. Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders put it in perspective in a documentary: “We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”
Some of the photos Anders took were used on posters and pins on the first Earth Day in 1970. They’ve been “an environmental staple of Earth Days ever since,” said Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day coordinator.
For Earth Day this year — at a time when perhaps some perspective is needed — The Associated Press asked space travelers to recall what it’s like to see Earth from above:
CONTINUED...
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18202449/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/mankinds-rarest-view-earth-afar/#.VkuOinarTq4
Thank you, xocet, for the link to the High-Def Earth Viewing System. Incredible! There's gotta be a way to turn it into a screensaver...
Mankind's Rarest View: Earth from Afar
Space travelers recall what the planet looks like from above
By Seth Borenstein
AP, April 21, 2007
EXCERPT...
The first full view of Earth came from the moon-bound Apollo 8 during the waning days of a chaotic 1968. Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders put it in perspective in a documentary: “We came all this way to explore the moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.”
Some of the photos Anders took were used on posters and pins on the first Earth Day in 1970. They’ve been “an environmental staple of Earth Days ever since,” said Denis Hayes, the first Earth Day coordinator.
For Earth Day this year — at a time when perhaps some perspective is needed — The Associated Press asked space travelers to recall what it’s like to see Earth from above:
“It was the only color we could see in the universe. ...
“We’re living on a tiny little dust mote in left field on a rather insignificant galaxy. And basically this is it for humans. It strikes me that it’s a shame that we’re squabbling over oil and borders.” — Bill Anders, Apollo 8, whose photos of Earth became famous.
CONTINUED...
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18202449/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/mankinds-rarest-view-earth-afar/#.VkuOinarTq4
Thank you, xocet, for the link to the High-Def Earth Viewing System. Incredible! There's gotta be a way to turn it into a screensaver...
It just bends the mind that with all of our wars, destruction, poverty, human misery and ravages of our own environment, THIS blue, life-sustaining dot is all we have.
Really stops one in his/her tracks.
One of those gleaming shades of blue are those like you, Octafish, who continue to find the facts and bring them to so many who are searching for truth in this human-based madness we call home. DU would never be the same without your perspective.
Here's to you, friend. Thank you for posting these images and historical context.
''It was the only color we could see in the universe...''
They didn't just fly around the moon. They hit the brakes and stayed a while.
How Apollo 8 Gave a Beleaguered Nation a Christmas Gift
December 24, 1998|By Dennis Polkow. Special to The Chicago Tribune.
EXCERPT...
"We never saw the moon on the way out there because of the direction of the spacecraft," says Lovell. "We just saw the Earth getting smaller and smaller, which was very sobering in terms of understanding how far away we were really heading. We lit the engine to slow down, and the computer then told us we were in lunar orbit, but all we saw was blackness until we rotated 180 degrees.
"Then all of a sudden we saw the far side of the moon -- the side which always faces away from Earth and which had never been seen by human beings -- just 60 miles below us, and we were like three school kids looking in a candy store window. It was utterly amazing.
"I had seen the orbiter pictures, Surveyor pictures of the moon, but my God, there we were, for real, only 60 miles up. You could actually see the roundness of this thing. It was all shades of gray: Dark grays, light grays, dark black areas, it was like a forbidden area. It was beautiful in a sort of horrible way, craters and mountains everywhere. It was great to look at, but I sure wouldn't want to live there."
Then Lovell, Borman and Anders got the shock of their lives.
Snapping photos in awe
"Anders was busy taking pictures of craters, so he didn't even notice the sudden burst of color along the lunar horizon," says Lovell. "It was the Earth coming up over the moon's surface. I was so dumbfounded at the beauty of the sight and called to Anders to photograph what we were seeing. Borman protested, saying it wasn't on the flight plan. Before long, all three of us were snapping pictures, absolutely in awe."
That first photograph of an Earthrise over the lunar horizon, which all three Apollo 8 crewmen boast of taking, became one of the famous photographs ever taken. It forever altered our perspectives as human beings about our place in the universe.
That Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 broadcast the startling live television pictures back to Earth. Not only were they the most detailed and closeup images of the lunar landscape ever seen, but the Earth itself could be seen as a little ball in the distance.
With a sense of the theatrical, Anders announced to the world: "And for all of the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send to you: `In the beginning, God created the heaven and the Earth.' "
He continued to read the opening of the Book of Genesis while those on the Earth saw their planet from that unimaginable vantage point. Then Lovell continued on, relating the story of creation, while shadows lengthened across the moon's Sea of Tranquillity.
"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with: Good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you back on the good Earth."
"It was so ironic," recalls Anders, 30 years after the fact. "After spending all of that time and money to get to the moon, the most impressive sight was our own Earth in the vast blackness of space. It was the only color we could see in the universe and was a gorgeous, moving sight.
"Here was a perspective that showed our planet not to be some infinite mass of granite for us to kick around, beat up and pollute, -- it looked, appropriately enough, just like a Christmas tree ornament hanging there: Very delicate, very finite and very fragile."
SOURCE:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-12-24/features/9812240262_1_apollo-astronauts-moon/2
December 24, 1998|By Dennis Polkow. Special to The Chicago Tribune.
EXCERPT...
"We never saw the moon on the way out there because of the direction of the spacecraft," says Lovell. "We just saw the Earth getting smaller and smaller, which was very sobering in terms of understanding how far away we were really heading. We lit the engine to slow down, and the computer then told us we were in lunar orbit, but all we saw was blackness until we rotated 180 degrees.
"Then all of a sudden we saw the far side of the moon -- the side which always faces away from Earth and which had never been seen by human beings -- just 60 miles below us, and we were like three school kids looking in a candy store window. It was utterly amazing.
"I had seen the orbiter pictures, Surveyor pictures of the moon, but my God, there we were, for real, only 60 miles up. You could actually see the roundness of this thing. It was all shades of gray: Dark grays, light grays, dark black areas, it was like a forbidden area. It was beautiful in a sort of horrible way, craters and mountains everywhere. It was great to look at, but I sure wouldn't want to live there."
Then Lovell, Borman and Anders got the shock of their lives.
Snapping photos in awe
"Anders was busy taking pictures of craters, so he didn't even notice the sudden burst of color along the lunar horizon," says Lovell. "It was the Earth coming up over the moon's surface. I was so dumbfounded at the beauty of the sight and called to Anders to photograph what we were seeing. Borman protested, saying it wasn't on the flight plan. Before long, all three of us were snapping pictures, absolutely in awe."
That first photograph of an Earthrise over the lunar horizon, which all three Apollo 8 crewmen boast of taking, became one of the famous photographs ever taken. It forever altered our perspectives as human beings about our place in the universe.
That Christmas Eve, Apollo 8 broadcast the startling live television pictures back to Earth. Not only were they the most detailed and closeup images of the lunar landscape ever seen, but the Earth itself could be seen as a little ball in the distance.
With a sense of the theatrical, Anders announced to the world: "And for all of the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send to you: `In the beginning, God created the heaven and the Earth.' "
He continued to read the opening of the Book of Genesis while those on the Earth saw their planet from that unimaginable vantage point. Then Lovell continued on, relating the story of creation, while shadows lengthened across the moon's Sea of Tranquillity.
"And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with: Good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you back on the good Earth."
"It was so ironic," recalls Anders, 30 years after the fact. "After spending all of that time and money to get to the moon, the most impressive sight was our own Earth in the vast blackness of space. It was the only color we could see in the universe and was a gorgeous, moving sight.
"Here was a perspective that showed our planet not to be some infinite mass of granite for us to kick around, beat up and pollute, -- it looked, appropriately enough, just like a Christmas tree ornament hanging there: Very delicate, very finite and very fragile."
SOURCE:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-12-24/features/9812240262_1_apollo-astronauts-moon/2
PS: Thank you, seafan. Your friendship means the worldszah to me.
The Blue Sphere
We are surrounded by the majestic statement of the sea
and the ever changing murmur of the forests;
we share all these miracles with our lively cousins:
the ones that fly
the ones that crawl
the ones that swim
the ones that run
all seeking the blessings of Mother Nature.
But all the ones that walk:
the builders of cathedrals, pyramids,
great walls and temples to the sun,
we still look at each other with hatred and misgivings
while seeking the forgiveness of a forgotten God.
-- by Adolfo Chipoco, MD
(Blogger Machodoc) Came across an interesting tidbit at the Archives yesterday, specifically in Kissinger's National Security space files.
It seems that in early summer 1969 Bill Moyers, after reading an article in Newsday, wrote Pat Moynihan to ask if he could convice President Nixon to christen the Apollo XI the "John F. Kennedy". Moynihan agreed, sent a memo to up the chain of command, where before it finally reached the White House received a couple of additional endorsements.
On June 12 the proposal reached John Ehrlichman's desk, and in a memo to H. R. Haldeman, wrote: "Unlike Daniel P. Moynihan, I can see no advantage to the President to commission the Apollo 11 moon shot the "John F. Kennedy." We would win neither friends in Congress no votes in 1972 and would only become pawns in the press's game of perpetuating the name of JFK. Fall prey to this and the next step will be renaming the moon because NBC thinks it would be a good idea."
The next day, in a memo to his boss, Haldeman, Steve Bull agreed, an in his memo said that "we have gone far enough in "Kennedyizing" such ventures."
In the action box at the bottom of the page, in the space recommending the action be abandoned is Haldeman's "H", with a note in strong handwriting and double underlined, "positively!!"
SOURCE:
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/000980.html
It seems that in early summer 1969 Bill Moyers, after reading an article in Newsday, wrote Pat Moynihan to ask if he could convice President Nixon to christen the Apollo XI the "John F. Kennedy". Moynihan agreed, sent a memo to up the chain of command, where before it finally reached the White House received a couple of additional endorsements.
On June 12 the proposal reached John Ehrlichman's desk, and in a memo to H. R. Haldeman, wrote: "Unlike Daniel P. Moynihan, I can see no advantage to the President to commission the Apollo 11 moon shot the "John F. Kennedy." We would win neither friends in Congress no votes in 1972 and would only become pawns in the press's game of perpetuating the name of JFK. Fall prey to this and the next step will be renaming the moon because NBC thinks it would be a good idea."
The next day, in a memo to his boss, Haldeman, Steve Bull agreed, an in his memo said that "we have gone far enough in "Kennedyizing" such ventures."
In the action box at the bottom of the page, in the space recommending the action be abandoned is Haldeman's "H", with a note in strong handwriting and double underlined, "positively!!"
SOURCE:
http://www.collectspace.com/ubb/Forum29/HTML/000980.html
Explains why the pukes were so fast to unname Cape Kennedy back to Cape Canaveral -- speeds the day when no one remembers Liberal Democrats led the United States to the moon.
You know, you catch a lot of grief of this site... and yeah, I may sometimes think, 'Say what? or Nope.', and I don't always rec, but you are one of the few members I always read, and respect.
The peaceful exploration of space was the best thing to happen to jobs in history. At its peak, 400,000 Americans were employed in the Apollo Project.
Imagine if President Kennedy had lived, where the nation would be today? I believe, if we could figure out how to the moon and back, we could face any problem on earth and solve it -- from ending hunger, poverty and ignorance to creating a lasting peace.
Problems today's GOP considers intractable (see Poppy Bush inaugural "More will than Wallet"
such as joblessness, poverty, crime, would be tackled, instead of ignored, like they've done with public education. And the treasures accumulated since would be used to make life better for everybody on earth instead of sitting in a secret Swiss bank account.
But, no. The conservatives killed the New Deal after LBJ and the Great Society. For the space program, it started with Nixon. Instead, they gave the store away to War Inc, who sank the national treasure into the "Money trumps peace" crowd.
We need this kind of Big Think today in the worst of ways. Thanks for grokking, WillyT.
"One glance at a book and you hear the voice of another person, perhaps someone dead for 1,000 years. To read is to voyage through time." -- Carl Sagan
The more we learn, the more we realize we are one with the universe and with one another. Thank you for grokking, Warren DeMontague.
"Well I dreamed I saw the silver spaceships flyin',
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children cryin', and colors flyin'
All around the Chosen Ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream,
The loading had begun,
Flyin' Mother Nature's silver seed,
To a new home in the sun."
I LIKE your idea! One of my all-time favorite reads!
In the yellow haze of the sun,
There were children cryin', and colors flyin'
All around the Chosen Ones.
All in a dream, all in a dream,
The loading had begun,
Flyin' Mother Nature's silver seed,
To a new home in the sun."
I LIKE your idea! One of my all-time favorite reads!
in my and my late moms opine , world war 2 never really ended even though we had a fancy document signing ceremony and all. many of the wars hence were extetenions of ww2 and every 4 years or sooner the big boys have to " test their new toys " ( my late mom)i have a big formant collection of photos of apollo eleven and that photo is in the collection. beep. i was inspired by gemini and apollo along with space shuttle . alsol loved science fiction esp star trek and their premise . here is a group 
for everyone .
Earth as seen from beyond Saturn by the Cassini spacecraft.
PS: You are most welcome, allan01. Thank you for sharing you and your mom's experiences. I grew up in the 60s -- the luckiest kid on the planet, as my best friend's dad worked at Whirlpool -- St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan's big manufacturer of home appliances and maker of NASA space food. Bill's pop was in the PR department and brought home press releases and information that we used to start our "NASA scrapbooks."
As 9- and 11-year olds, we would write to the various NASA facilities around the country and they would ALWAYS respond -- with kind letters, accompanied by news releases, NASA Facts, pamphlets, mission summaries and all manner of information that we would consume and talk about until the next package arrived. We followed most of the Gemini missions together, starting with Gemini IV and Ed White's spacewalk. My mom would go out on the morning of a launch and buy reel-to-reel tapes so we could record Walter Cronkite and Jules Bergman's reportage.
We were devastated by the loss of a Gemini crew in a training accident and then the Apollo 1 fire. We learned at an early age about loss. We also learned never give up. It was our moms who helped us move forward. Thank you so much for helping me remember that time.
On July 19, 2013, in an event celebrated the world over, NASA's Cassini spacecraft slipped into Saturn's shadow and turned to image the planet, seven of its moons, its inner rings -- and, in the background, our home planet, Earth.
With the sun's powerful and potentially damaging rays eclipsed by Saturn itself, Cassini's onboard cameras were able to take advantage of this unique viewing geometry. They acquired a panoramic mosaic of the Saturn system that allows scientists to see details in the rings and throughout the system as they are backlit by the sun. This mosaic is special as it marks the third time our home planet was imaged from the outer solar system; the second time it was imaged by Cassini from Saturn's orbit; and the first time ever that inhabitants of Earth were made aware in advance that their photo would be taken from such a great distance.
With both Cassini's wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras aimed at Saturn, Cassini was able to capture 323 images in just over four hours. This final mosaic uses 141 of those wide-angle images. Images taken using the red, green and blue spectral filters of the wide-angle camera were combined and mosaicked together to create this natural-color view. A brightened version with contrast and color enhanced, a version with just the planets annotated, and an unannotated version are also available.
This image spans about 404,880 miles (651,591 kilometers) across.
CONTINUED...
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4918
With the sun's powerful and potentially damaging rays eclipsed by Saturn itself, Cassini's onboard cameras were able to take advantage of this unique viewing geometry. They acquired a panoramic mosaic of the Saturn system that allows scientists to see details in the rings and throughout the system as they are backlit by the sun. This mosaic is special as it marks the third time our home planet was imaged from the outer solar system; the second time it was imaged by Cassini from Saturn's orbit; and the first time ever that inhabitants of Earth were made aware in advance that their photo would be taken from such a great distance.
With both Cassini's wide-angle and narrow-angle cameras aimed at Saturn, Cassini was able to capture 323 images in just over four hours. This final mosaic uses 141 of those wide-angle images. Images taken using the red, green and blue spectral filters of the wide-angle camera were combined and mosaicked together to create this natural-color view. A brightened version with contrast and color enhanced, a version with just the planets annotated, and an unannotated version are also available.
This image spans about 404,880 miles (651,591 kilometers) across.
CONTINUED...
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/photos/imagedetails/index.cfm?imageId=4918
PS: You are most welcome, allan01. Thank you for sharing you and your mom's experiences. I grew up in the 60s -- the luckiest kid on the planet, as my best friend's dad worked at Whirlpool -- St. Joseph/Benton Harbor, Michigan's big manufacturer of home appliances and maker of NASA space food. Bill's pop was in the PR department and brought home press releases and information that we used to start our "NASA scrapbooks."
As 9- and 11-year olds, we would write to the various NASA facilities around the country and they would ALWAYS respond -- with kind letters, accompanied by news releases, NASA Facts, pamphlets, mission summaries and all manner of information that we would consume and talk about until the next package arrived. We followed most of the Gemini missions together, starting with Gemini IV and Ed White's spacewalk. My mom would go out on the morning of a launch and buy reel-to-reel tapes so we could record Walter Cronkite and Jules Bergman's reportage.
We were devastated by the loss of a Gemini crew in a training accident and then the Apollo 1 fire. We learned at an early age about loss. We also learned never give up. It was our moms who helped us move forward. Thank you so much for helping me remember that time.
Ed White expresses his sorrow at the conclusion of the first American spacewalk during the Gemini 4 mission on 3 June 1965.
The first man to walk in space...
“It was so quiet I could even hear my heart beat,” he told the Observer. “I was surrounded by stars and was floating without much control. I will never forget the moment. I also felt an incredible sense of responsibility. Of course, I did not know that I was about to experience the most difficult moments of my life – getting back into the capsule.”
You are most welcome, 1norcal. A friend shook hands with Alexei Leonov when he was in the Air Force. I ask him to tell the story every time I see him.
Chicago's near the middle above.
"Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you, let him live. In a hundred billion galaxies, you won't find another." -- Carl Sagan
Some names to know:
Thomas Mantel
Mantell Case (1948)
EXCERPT...
Mantell was an experienced pilot; his flight history consisted of 2,167 hours in the air, and he had been honored for his part in the Battle of Normandy during World War II.
On 7 January 1948, Godman Field at Fort Knox, Kentucky received a report from the Kentucky Highway Patrol of an unusual aerial object near Maysville, Kentucky. Reports of a westbound circular object, 250 feet (76 m) to 300 feet (91 m) in diameter, were received from Owensboro, Kentucky, and Irvington, Kentucky.
At about 1:45 p.m., Sgt Quinton Blackwell saw an object from his position in the control tower at Fort Knox. Two other witnesses in the tower also reported a white object in the distance. Base commander Colonel Guy Hix reported an object he described as "very white," and "about one fourth the size of the full moon ... Through binoculars it appeared to have a red border at the bottom ... It remained stationary, seemingly, for one and a half hours." Observers at Clinton County Army Air Field in Ohio described the object "as having the appearance of a flaming red cone trailing a gaseous green mist" and observed the object for around 35 minutes. Another observer at Lockbourne Army Air Field in Ohio noted, "Just before leaving it came to very near the ground, staying down for about ten seconds, then climbed at a very fast rate back to its original altitude, 10,000 feet, leveling off and disappearing into the overcast heading 120 degrees. Its speed was greater than 500 mph in level flight."
Four P-51 Mustangs of C Flight, 165th Fighter Squadron Kentucky Air National Guard already in the air—one piloted by Mantell—were told to approach the object. Blackwell was in radio communication with the pilots throughout the event.
One pilot's Mustang was low on fuel, and he quickly abandoned his efforts. Air Force Captain Edward J. Ruppelt (the first head of Project Blue Book) notes that there was some disagreement amongst the air traffic controllers as to Mantell's words as he communicated with the tower: some sources reported that Mantell had described an object "
which) looks metallic and of tremendous size," but, according to Ruppelt in The Report on Unidentified Flying Objects, others disputed whether or not Mantell actually said this.
The other two pilots accompanied Mantell in steep pursuit of the object. They later reported they saw an object, but described it as so small and indistinct they could not identify it. Mantell ignored suggestions that the pilots should level their altitude and try to more clearly see the object.
Only one of Mantell's companions, Lt. Albert Clemmons, had an oxygen mask, and his oxygen was in low supply. Clemmons and a Lt. Hammond called off their pursuit at 22,500 feet (6,900 m). Mantell continued to climb, however. According to the Air Force, once Mantell passed 25,000 feet (7,600 m) he supposedly blacked out from the lack of oxygen (hypoxia), and his plane began spiraling back towards the ground. A witness later reported Mantell's Mustang in a circling descent. His plane crashed at a farm south of Franklin, Kentucky, on the Tennessee-Kentucky state line.
Firemen later pulled Mantell's body from the Mustang's wreckage. His wristwatch had stopped at 3:18 p.m., the time of his crash. Meanwhile, by 3:50 p.m. the UFO was no longer visible to observers at Godman Field. The Mantell Incident was reported by newspapers around the nation, and received significant news media attention. A number of sensational rumors were also circulated about Mantell's crash. Among the rumors were claims that Mantell's fighter had been shot down by the UFO he was chasing, and that the Air Force covered up evidence proving this. Another rumor stated that Mantell's body was found riddled with strange holes. However, no evidence has ever surfaced to substantiate any of these claims. In 1956, Ruppelt wrote that the Mantell Crash was one of three "classic" UFO cases in 1948 that would help to define the UFO phenomenon in the public mind, and would help to convince Air Force intelligence specialists that UFOs were a "real", physical phenomenon (Ruppelt 30). The other two sightings were the Gorman Dogfight and the Chiles-Whitted UFO Encounter.
CONTINUED...
http://www.mufon.com/mantell-case---1948.html
Felix Moncla and Robert Wilson
Radar operator stated he watched the aircraft approach the UFO; then saw the two blips merge into one return on his scope; which then took off at a high rate of speed and out of radar range.
http://www.nuforc.org/mancla.html
No remains of the crew or wreckage of the F-89C have been found.
Frederick Valentich
His late father holds the missing flyer's picture:
Delta Sierra Juliet? Do you read?
Boats and aircraft have found no trace of the 20-year old Australian pilot who disappeared with his plane on Saturday night after radioing that he was being chased by a UFO. Frederick Valentich was on a 125 mile training flight in his single engine Cessna 182 along the coast of Bass Strait when he told air traffic controllers in Melbourne that he was being buzzed by a UFO with 4 bright lights about 1000 feet above him.
Controllers said his last message was taped and was: "It's approaching from due east towards me. It seems to be playing some sort of game... flying at a speed I can't estimate. It's not an aircraft. It's...It is flying past. It is a long shape. I cannot identify more than that. It's coming for me right now." A minute later: "It seems to be stationary. I'm also orbiting and the thing is orbiting on top of me also. It has a green light and a sort of metallic light on the outside." Valentich then radioed that his engine was running roughly. His last words were: "It is not an aircraft."
The Australian Air Force said it had received 11 reports from people along the coast who said they saw UFOs on Saturday night, but the Transport Department was skeptical. Ken Williams, a spokesman for the department, said, "It's funny all these people ringing up with UFO reports well after Valentich's disappearance. It seems people often decide after the event, they too had seen strange lights. But although we can't take them too seriously, we can never discourgae such reports when investigating a plane's disappearance."
SNIP...
[font size="5"]ACTUAL TRANSCRIPTION OF MELBOURNE FLIGHT SERVICE [/font size]
The transcript portion of the communication between Valentich and Melbourne Flight Service as released by the Australian Department of Transport follows: (FS - Flight Service, DSJ - Frederick Valentich aircraft designation).
1906:14 DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet. Is there any known traffic below five thousand?
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, no known traffic.
DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, I am, seems to be a large aircraft below five thousand.
1906:44 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, What type of aircraft is it?
DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, I cannot affirm, it is four bright, it seems to me like landing lights.
1907 FS Delta Sierra Juliet.
1907:31 DSJ Melbourne, this is Delta Sierra Juliet, the aircraft has just passed over me at least a thousand feet above.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, and it is a large aircraft, confirmed?
DSJ Er-unknown, due to the speed it's travelling, is there any air force aircraft in the vicinity?
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, no known aircraft in the vicinity.
1908:18 DSJ Melbourne, it's approaching now from due east towards me.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet.
1908:41 DSJ (open microphone for two seconds.)
1908:48 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, it seems to me that he's playing some sort of game, he's flying over me two, three times at speeds I could not identify.
1909 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what is your actual level?
DSJ My level is four and a half thousand, four five zero zero.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, and you confirm you cannot identify the aircraft?
DSJ Affirmative.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, stand by.
1909:27 DSJ Melbourne, Delta Sierra Juliet, it's not an aircraft it is (open microphone for two seconds).
1909:42 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, can you describe the -er- aircraft?
DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, as it's flying past it's a long shape (open microphone for three seconds) cannot identify more than it has such speed (open microphone for three seconds). It's before me right now Melbourne.
1910 FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger and how large would the - er - object be?
1910:19 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, Melbourne, it seems like it's stationary. What I'm doing right now is orbiting and the thing is just orbiting on top of me also. It's got a green light and sort of metallic like, it's all shiny on the outside.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet
1910:46 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet (open microphone for three seconds) It's just vanished.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet
1911 DSJ Melbourne, would you know what kind of aircraft I've got? Is it a military aircraft?
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, Confirm the - er ~ aircraft just vanished.
DSJ Say again.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, is the aircraft still with you?
DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet; it's (open microphone for two seconds) now approaching from the south-west.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet
1911:50 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet, the engine is rough-idling. I've got it set at twenty three twenty-four and the thing is coughing.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet, roger, what are your intentions?
DSJ My intentions are - ah - to go to King Island - ah - Melbourne. That strange aircraft is hovering on top of me again (open microphone for two seconds). It is hovering and it's not an aircraft.
FS Delta Sierra Juliet.
1912:28 DSJ Delta Sierra Juliet. Melbourne (open microphone for seventeen seconds).
SOURCE: http://www.ufocasebook.com/australianpilot.html
When you learn what happened to them, get back to me. I'm sure DU would like to know your "thoughts" on UFOs and who knows what else, Logical.
He was a professional debunker, talented in his way, wrote for Aviation Week and Space Technology.
Do you remember Donald Howard Menzel, UFO debunker from Harvard? He was the go-to UFO debunker before Klass. Air Force generals loved him.
Both great minds. Both dead wrong in their work on UFOs.
Neither gets mentioned anymore these days, on-air anyway. This guy does get the air and, like all people with weird hair and accents, gets ridiculed and debunks himself.
So the public consumes disinformation rather than learns about what should be a topic of scientific interest, as observed by J. Allen Hynek, Jacques Vallee, David Michael Jacobs and others.
You just won the Internet!
Perspective really changes everything.
"If I Forget Thee, O Earth."
I read Clarke cover to cover as a kid. The guy was an amazing writer. I had to Google the story to jar the engrams. Profound. Thank you for the kind reminder, niyad.
Beautiful also when you actually land upon it after coming back from space until you realize what exist here then, it isn't so beautiful after all, then it becomes a commodity that is being destroyed by those that would OWN it.
Our planet is beautiful, but not unique:
Excellent post Octafish, you never fail to amaze me.
Complete ep:
"These are some of the things that hydrogen atoms do given fifteen billion years of cosmic evolution. It has the sound of epic myth, but it is simply a description of the evolution of the cosmos as revealed by science in our time. And we, we who embody the local eyes and ears and thoughts and feelings of the cosmos, we have begun at least to wonder about our origins -- star stuff contemplating the stars, organized collections of ten billion billion billion atoms, contemplating the evolution of nature, tracing that long path by which it arrived at consciousness here on the planet earth, and perhaps throughout the cosmos."
"Our loyalties are to the species and to the planet. We speak for earth. Our obligation to survive and flourish is owed not just to ourselves but also to that cosmos ancient and vast from which we spring!"
- Carl Sagan, in Cosmos
