Earth and Space News: 2014

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Four of the Many Lessons That Sandra Bullock Films Teach Me

Summary: Four Sandra Bullock films with helpful lessons are Premonition, Miss Congeniality, The Lake House and The Blind Side.

Sandra Bullock in Cannes, France, 2002: Rita Molnár, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Awareness, focus, integrity and self-knowledge are four top lessons that I learn from watching Virginia-born actress Sandra Bullock's (born July 26, 1964) films. The four lessons can be found in many of Sandra's films. But each one epitomizes the main lesson and theme in each of four of her most beloved films.

Awareness appears in Premonition (2007). Emotions antagonistic to comprehension and cooperation control Sandra's Linda. She is depressed about her children generating housework and laundry and her husband working long hours. She lets herself look unattractive and wallow in self-pity until premonitory dreams warn her of unexpected accidents, one disfiguring and another fatal. She realizes the need to exchange isolating, self-absorbed depression for awareness of her daughters' well-being, her family's security and her husband's needs. Awareness supplies the wherewithal for her to fight for life's miracles. She walks away with financial security and new life from the only fight that premonitory awareness loses.

Focus characterizes Miss Congeniality (2000). Single-minded devotion to career leaves Sandra's Gracie slovenly and unlikable. Undercover work at a beauty pageant makes her realize the importance of alternately sharpening and widening professional focuses. Fellow contestants thank her as their Miss Congeniality, whose manners consider others' comfort and well-being.

Sandra at The Lake House, London premiere, September 2006: Caroline Bonarde Ucci, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Integrity drives The Lake House (2006). Sandra's Kate feels that she is settling for less romantically in a personally satisfactory, professionally rich life. She atypically jumps at considering love's miracles despite daunting limitations in physical and temporal opportunities and spaces. She temporarily reverts to compromised relationships. But she ultimately stands firm in believing "Where there's a love there's a way." Integrity translates into getting what she needs and seeks in romantic relationships: a loving friend who is a friendly lover.

Self-knowledge emerges in The Blind Side (2009). Sandra's Leigh Anne gets to know her family's and friends' strengths and weaknesses. She additionally knows herself very well. She makes sure that her daughter and son accentuate their stronger school subjects and compensate for weaknesses through socialization and stamina. She notices Michael, whose socio-economic background and tested IQ bode poorly. She supports Michael's educational accomplishments as an unlikely high school and college graduate and professional achievements as a professional football player by promoting his self-knowledge of learning limitations, physical contributions and socialized behavior.

It always is time well spent to learn life's lessons in career, education, family and relationships by way of Sandra Bullock's audience-friendly films!

Sandra with SAG Award for The Blind Side, January 2010: Thomas Atilla Lewis, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Sandra Bullock in Cannes, France, 2002: Rita Molnár, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandra_Bullock(cannesPC)-.jpg

Sandra at The Lake House, London premiere, September 2006: Caroline Bonarde Ucci, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SandraBullockLakehouse.jpg

Sandra with SAG Award for The Blind Side, January 2010: Thomas Atilla Lewis, CC BY 2.0 Generic, via Wikimedia Commons @ http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandra_Bullock_at_the_2010_SAG_Awards.jpg

Apollo 8 Imaged Pasteur Craters During Christmas Eve 1968 Lunar Orbit

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Pasteur craters during Christmas Eve 1968 lunar orbit, as the spacecraft rounded the lunar far side.

black-and-white telephoto view of Earth rising (240,000 statute miles away) above the moon’s Earth-viewed eastern limb (570 kilometers; 350 statute miles away) captures the middle of Pasteur Crater, with satellites G, H and M (foreground) and satellites S and U cluster (top); Christmas Eve 1968 photo by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders during Apollo 8 spacecraft’s fourth lunar orbit; NASA ID AS08-13-2329: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Image and Video Library

Apollo 8 imaged Pasteur craters during Christmas Eve 1968 lunar orbit, as Apollo Command-Service Module (CSM) 103 emerged from its 45-minute communication-less trek behind Earth’s moon.

Apollo 8 astronaut William Alison Anders (born Oct. 17, 1933) took three photographs of Earth rising above the lunar surface as CSM-103 rounded the lunar far side. He obtained his first Earthrise as a black-and-white photograph with a 250-millimeter telephoto lens. The image captured the sunlit-portion of the terrestrial globe, with the sunset terminator appearing to balance on the lunar horizon.

The lunar setting for Anders’ black-and-white Earthrise photograph is the far side’s selenocentric (moon-centered) southwestern quadrant. Pasteur Crater and its western satellites dominate the image’s lunar landscape.

Irregularly rimmed Pasteur lies southeast of Mare Smythii (Sea of Smyth). The equatorial basaltic lava plain spills across the near side’s southeastern quadrant into the far side’s southwestern quadrant.

In Apollo Over the Moon: A View From Orbit, published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1978, astrogeologists Harold Masursky (Dec. 23, 1922-Aug. 24, 1990), G.W. Colton and Farouk El-Baz (born Jan. 2, 1938) described Pasteur as “. . . a large, ancient crater, 250 km in diameter, with numerous younger and smaller craters superposed on its rim and flat floor” (Chapter 2, page 33, figure 18). The authors noted that, “aside from a few small fresh-appearing craters,” Pasteur’s surrounding terrain “. . . appears to be old and subdued as if mantled by a thick layer of debris.”

Pasteur is centered at minus 11.58 degrees south latitude, 104.91 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater’s northernmost and southernmost latitudes extend to minus 7.74 degrees south and minus 15.42 degrees south. It registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 108.83 degrees east and 100.99 degrees east. The lunar impact crater’s diameter spans 232.77 kilometers.

The IAU credits Pasteur with 14 satellites. Three of Pasteur’s designated satellites, G, H and M, cluster near their parent’s midpoint. The trio are visible in the foreground of the black-and-white Earthrise image.

Pasteur G is centered at minus 11.84 south latitude, 106.12 east longitude. The satellite obtains southernmost and northernmost latitudes of minus 11.5 degrees south and minus 12.19 degrees south. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 106.47 degrees east and 105.77 degrees east, respectively. The satellite has a diameter of 20.73 kilometers.

H neighbors G to the southwest. H is centered at minus 12.42 degrees south latitude, 106.79 degrees east longitude. The satellite marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 12.06 degrees south and minus 12.78 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes register at 107.15 degrees east and 106.42 degrees east. Pasteur H has a diameter of 21.6 kilometers.

M lies west of H and southwest of G. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes trim to minus 12.24 degrees south and minus 12.61 degrees south, respectively. M registers easternmost and westernmost longitudes at 105.27 degrees east and 104.89 degrees east, respectively. M has a diameter of 11.33 kilometers.

Toward Earthrise’s horizon, craterlets cluster around satellites S and U. Each satellite bears an intruding small crater. U also merges with Pasteur V along its northwestern wall.

Pasteur S lies to the south of Pasteur U. S aligns westward of Pasteur H and M.

S is centered at minus 12.4 degrees south latitude, 102.34 degrees east longitude. S obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 11.92 degrees south and minus 12.87 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 102.83 degrees east and 101.86 degrees east, respectively. S’s diameter measures 28.76 kilometers.

Pasteur U hunkers north-northwest of S. It lies northwestward of the midpoint clustering of G, H and M.

U is centered at minus 9.99 degrees south latitude, 101.99 degrees east longitude. U marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 9.37 degrees south and minus 10.62 degrees south, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach to 102.62 degrees east and 101.35 degrees east, respectively. U’s diameter spans 37.88 kilometers.

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Pasteur craters during the mission’s Christmas Eve 1968 lunar orbit is that the black-and-white Earthrise photograph taken by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders makes a dramatic capture of Earth that includes a recognizable tour of lunar far side crater Pasteur’s western satellites.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 82 shows parent crater Pasteur dotted with its 13 satellites; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

black-and-white telephoto view of Earth rising (240,000 statute miles away) above the moon’s Earth-viewed eastern limb (570 kilometers; 350 statute miles away) captures the middle of Pasteur Crater, with Paster G (foreground) and Paster U cluster (top); Christmas Eve 1968 photo by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders during Apollo 8 spacecraft’s fourth lunar orbit; NASA ID AS08-13-2329: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Image and Video Library @ https://images.nasa.gov/details-as08-13-2329.html

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 82 shows parent crater Pasteur dotted with its 14 satellites; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/images/Lunar/lac_82_wac.pdf

For further information:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 8: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 1971.

International Astronomical Union. “Anders’ Earthrise.” [Formerly Pasteur T]. USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Feb. 5, 2019.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11867

International Astronomical Union. “Mare Smythii.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3689

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/4604

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur A.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11858

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur B.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11859

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur D.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11860

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur E.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11861

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur G.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11862

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur H.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11863

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur M.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11864

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur Q.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11865

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur S.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11866

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur U.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11868

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur V.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11869

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur Y.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11870

International Astronomical Union. “Pasteur Z.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11871

Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. New York NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2017.

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Flight Was Only, Second and Third Flight for Anders, Borman and Lovell.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/apollo-8-was-only-second-and-third.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Goclenius Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2014/12/apollo-8-imaged-goclenius-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Joliot Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/apollo-8-imaged-joliot-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Lomonosov Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2013/12/apollo-8-imaged-lomonosov-crater-during.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Imaged Taruntius Satellites During December 1968 Lunar Orbits.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/apollo-8-imaged-taruntius-satellites.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “Apollo 8 Proved Manned Space Flight Network’s Lunar Reach.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2012/12/apollo-8-proved-manned-space-flight.html

Marriner, Derdriu. “First Crewed Lunar Orbiting Mission Apollo 8 Launched Dec. 21, 1968.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011. Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-crewed-lunar-orbiting-mission.html

Masursky, Harold; G.W. Colton; and Farouk El-Baz. “Chapter 2: Regional Views.” Apollo Over the Moon: A View From the Orbit: 30-43. NASA SP-362. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Scientific and Technical Information Office, 1978.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-362/contents.htm

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

Orloff, Richard W. “Apollo 8 The Second Mission: Testing the CSM in Lunar Orbit.” Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference: 31-50. NASA History Series. NASA SP 4029. Washington DC: NASA Headquarters Office of Policy and Plans, 2000.
Available via NASA History @ https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029.pdf

Seligman, Courtney. “Topographic Map of the Moon’s Far Side.” Courtney Seligman website > Online Astronomy eText > Satellites (Moons) > Maps of the Moon.
Available @ https://cseligman.com/text/moons/moonfar.htm

Seligman, Courtney. “Topographic Map of the Moon’s Near Side.” Courtney Seligman website > Online Astronomy eText > Satellites (Moons) > Maps of the Moon.
Available @ https://cseligman.com/text/moons/moonnear.htm

U.S. Geological Survey. Color-Coded Topography and Shaded Relief Map of the Lunar Near Side and Far Side Hemispheres. U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series I-2769. Page last modified Nov. 30, 2016. Flagstaff AZ: U.S. Geological Survey Astrogeology Science Center, 2003.
Available via USGS Publications Warehouse @ https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2769/

Zimmerman, Robert. Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8: The First Manned Flight to Another World. New York NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1998.

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Apollo 8 Astronaut William Anders Imaged Earthrise Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968

Summary: Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders imaged Earthrise Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968, during the mission spacecraft’s fourth revolution around the moon.

first of two color photographs of Earthrise, taken Dec. 24, 1968, at approximately 10:40 a.m. Houston time (15:40 Greenwich Mean Time; 075:49:07 Ground Elapsed Time) from the Apollo 8 spacecraft by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders after his first black-and-white Earthrise photo; lunar horizon distanced at about 570 kilometers (350 statute miles), with horizon view width of about 150 kilometers (95 statute miles); Earth distanced at 240,000 statute miles; NASA ID AS08-14-2383: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Image and Video Library

Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders imaged Earthrise Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968, as Apollo Command-Service Module (CSM) 103 rounded the lunar far side during the spacecraft’s fourth of 10 revolutions around the moon.

Mission Commander Frank Frederick Borman II (born March 14, 1928) was positioned in the spacecraft’s left-hand seat. He was maneuvering the ship into proper orientation for focus on a lunar target. His front-facing rendezvous window supported one of the mission’s two Hasselblad 500 EL electric cameras, fitted with an 80 millimeter lens.

Command Module Pilot James “Jim” Arthur Lovell Jr. (born March 25, 1928) was situated in the lower equipment bay. He was preparing to sight lunar landmarks with the onboard sextant.

William Alison Anders (born Oct. 17, 1933) occupied the spacecraft’s right-hand seat for viewing and photographing through his side window. Anders was designated as the mission’s Lunar Module Pilot (LMP), even though the mission lacked a lunar module. His responsibilities included taking the photographs of specified targets of opportunity (T/O) and of potential landing sites for future landing missions.

Anders held the mission’s other Hasselblad camera. His Hasselblad was fitted with a Zeiss Sonnar f/5.6 250-millimeter telephoto lens.

At approximately 10:38 a.m. Houston time (11:38 a.m. Eastern Standard Time; 16:38:32.6 Universal Time), which was 75 hours 47 minutes 33 seconds Mission Elapsed Time (75:47:32 MET), Anders exclaimed: “Oh, my God! Look at that picture over there!” Anders elaborated: “There’s the Earth coming up. Wow, is that pretty!”

Commander Borman joked: “Hey, don’t take that, it’s not scheduled.”

Anders then asked CMP Lovell: “You got a color film, Jim? Hand me a roll of color, quick, would you?”

Lovell agreed about the view of a rising Earth: “Oh man, that’s great!” Searching for the color film in the equipment bay, he asked: “Where is it?

Anders prodded: “Hurry. Quick.”

Lovell asked: “Down here?”

Anders responded: “Just grab me a color. A color exterior.” Then he urged: “Hurry up.” And again Anders prodded: “Got one?”

Lovell explained: “Yeah, I’m looking for one. C 368.”

C 368 references film type S0-368 Ektachrome color reversal. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo 8 Press Kit, released Sunday, Dec. 15, 1968, six days before the Saturday, Dec. 21, launch, itemized the mission’s film stowage as including two magazines of S0-368 for a total of 352 frames.

Anders urged: “Anything. Quick.”

Lovell finally announced: “Here.”

Anders had first captured the rising Earth in a black-and-white photograph obtained with a Zeiss Sonnar f/5.6 250-millimeter telephoto lens (NASA ID AS08-13-2329). Anders obtained the black-and-white photograph from his side window.

By the time Anders had loaded the color film transferred to him by Lovell, however, the spacecraft’s barbecue-spit style of turning had occasioned Earth’s disappeared from view through the side window. Anders announced: “Well, I think we missed it.”

Earthrise, however, then appeared in Lovell’s hatch window. He told Anders: “Hey, I got it right here.” Lovell then prompted Anders: “Bill, I got it framed. It’s very clearly here.”

Anders confidently answered “Yep” to Lovell’s questioning, “Got it?”

Lovell then directed Anders: “Take several, take several up here! Give it to me.”

Anders explained that he needed to “get the right setting here now. Just calm down. Calm down, Lovell!”

Lovell expressed concern: “Well, I got it right; aw, that’s beautiful shot.” Lovell then suggested varying “the exposure a little bit.”

Anders took two color photographs of Earthrise (NASA ID AS08-14-2383, NASA ID AS08-14-2384) from Lovell’s hatch window. He confirmed to Lovell: “I did. I took two of them here.”

The takeaway for Apollo 8 astronaut William Anders’ images of Earthrise Tuesday, Dec. 24, 1968, is that his Christmas Eve photographs capture Earth rising above the lunar near side’s horizon in one black-and-white and two color portraits.

second of two color photographs of Earthrise, taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft Dec. 24, 1968, by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Anders after his first black-and-white Earthrise photo; lunar horizon, with a view width of about 150 kilometers (95 statute miles), is viewed from a distance of 570 kilometers (350 statute miles); Earth lies at a distance of 240,000 statute miles; NASA ID AS08-14-2384: The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Image and Video Library

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Fauer, Jon. “Earthrise: Story Behind Our December Cover.” Jon Fauer’s Film and Digital Times. Nov. 25, 2010.
Available @ https://www.fdtimes.com/2010/11/25/earthrise-story-behind-our-december-cover/

Godwin, Robert, comp. and ed. Apollo 8: The NASA Mission Reports. Second edition. Burlington, Canada: Apogee Books, 1971.

Kluger, Jeffrey. Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon. New York NY: Henry Holt and Company, 2017.

Levy, David H. Skywatching. Revised and updated. San Francisco CA: Fog City Press, 1994.

Marriner, Derdriu. “First Crewed Lunar Orbiting Mission Apollo 8 Launched Dec. 21, 1968.” Earth and Space News. Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2011/12/first-crewed-lunar-orbiting-mission.html

Moore, Patrick, Sir. Philip’s Atlas of the Universe. Revised edition. London UK: Philip’s, 2005.

NASA Goddard. “Earthrise: The 45th Anniversary.” YouTube. Dec. 20, 2013.
Available via YouTube @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-vOscpiNc&t=3m30s

NASA JSC Web Team. “Apollo: 1963-1972.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/apollo.htm

NASA JSC Web. “Mission Transcripts: Apollo 8.” NASA JSC (National Aeronautics and Space Administration Johnson Space Center) History Portal. Updated July 16, 2010.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/apollo8.htm

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Mission Report. Prepared by Mission Evaluation Team. MSC-PA-R-69-1. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, February 1969.
Available via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/pdf/a08-missionreport.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Onboard Voice Transcription As Recorded on the Spacecraft Onboard Recorder (Data Storage Equipment). Houston TX: Manned Spacecraft Center, January 1969.
Available @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/AS08_CM.PDF

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Mission (AS-503) Post Launch Mission Operation Report No. 1. Prepared by Apollo Program Office-MAO. Report No. M-932-68-08. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Manned Space Flight, Feb. 10, 1969.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/pdf/a08-postlaunch-rep.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Press Kit. Release no. 68-208. Dec. 15, 1968. Washington DC: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, 1969.
Available via NASA History-Apollo Flight Journal @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/pdf/a08-presskit.pdf
Available @ https://www.nasa.gov/specials/apollo50th/pdf/A08_PressKit.pdf
Available via NASA NTRS (NASA Technical Reports Server) @ https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/19690003059.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Apollo 8 Technical Air-to-Ground Voice Transcription (Goss Net 1). Prepared for Data Logistics Office Test Division Apollo Spacecraft Program Office. Houston TX: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Manned Spacecraft Center, December 1968.
Available via Johnson Space Center (JSC) History Portal @ https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/mission_trans/AS08_TEC.PDF

Woods, W. David; and Frank O’Brien. “Apollo 8 Photography Index.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 8 Flight Journal.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/a08-photoindex.html

Woods, W. David; and Frank O’Brien. “Apollo 8 Documents.” NASA History > Apollo Flight Journal > The Apollo 8 Flight Journal.
Available @ https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap08fj/index.html

Zimmerman, Robert. Genesis: The Story of Apollo 8: The First Manned Flight to Another World. New York NY: Four Walls Eight Windows, 1998.

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

How I Say Goodnight to Insomnia

Summary: Go-to insomnia remedies, such as creative visualization, insight meditation and tapping, encourage saying goodnight to insomnia.

insomnia: Jem Yoshioka, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

Sleep disorders assume different forms. They involve sleeping too little or too much. They involve not sleeping nights, sleeping days or sleeping nights and days. Insomnia is my experience with sleep disorders.

Generally, I do not need eight hours of sleep. As a student, I loved subsisting on four hours of sleep per night since the deep sleep that I enjoy from time to time usually guarantees me an unbroken quartet of shut-eye. At yearly check-ups, doctors initially were concerned about the perpetually dark shadows under my eyes. The shadows were not an issue once physicians found healthy vitals and learned that the shadows are an inheritance from my beloved paternal grandmother.

With graduation, things began to change. Juggling demanding professional and full personal lives made me realize that I needed more sleep. My body needed six hours each night. The dilated blood vessels under my eyes always served as reality checks: darker with too little sleep, lighter with the proper amount.

My family's doctors saw insomnia as something that could be treated in my case without sleep lab appointments and analyses. They also tended to back off from medication. They were enthusiastic about naturopathically finding those two missing hours of nightly sleep.

The biggest sleep-related struggles are moving from worrying over problems to being receptive to solutions. Thanks to my doctors' and family's holistic preferences, I know how to back off from stress and bring on relaxation. The answer lies in meditating, napping, tapping and yoga.

I embrace two kinds of meditation. One is creatively envisioning how I feel and look sleeping six hours. The other is insightfully contemplating how my thoughts merge with blood flowing through my veins and air moving in and out of my nostrils. Focusing on the breath optimally oxygenates my blood, respirations and sleep.

It also is through napping, tapping and yoga that I fight sleeplessness. Every day, I lie down in a darkened room and close my eyes for 15 to 20 minutes. I also practice yoga every morning for 15 to 20 minutes. I thereby switch off the daily stresses that encourage sleepless nights.

In many ways, I favor tapping above all other approaches. It involves lightly drumming on different parts of the body. At the same time, I say, "I always get a good night's sleep."

These approaches are enjoyably effective alone or with other options. Their effectiveness can depend upon the environmental, physical and psychological triggers to sleeplessness. It works 100 percent for me: I fall asleep counting fireflies or hearing Mozart when I choose to, not because I have to!

restfulness of shavasana, yoga’s “corpse” pose: Matthew Ragan (raganmd), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

insomnia: Jem Yoshioka, CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/82836677@N00/3057829815/

restfulness of shavasana, yoga’s “corpse” pose: Matthew Ragan (raganmd), CC BY SA 2.0, via Flickr @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewragan/6089542303

For further information:

Ortner, Nick. 2013. The Tapping Solution: A Revolutionary System for Stress-Free Living. Carlsbad CA: Hay House.

The Tapping Solution (EFT).
Available @ http://www.thetappingsolution.com/

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Apollo 8 Imaged Goclenius Crater During December 1968 Lunar Orbits

Summary: Apollo 8 imaged Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits performed by the first three humans to journey to another astronomical body.

view of Goclenius Crater (foreground); Magelhaens A, Magelhaens and Gutenberg D (second row); Colombo A (third row; upper right); long-focal length lens photograph taken Dec. 24, 1968, by Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) William Alison Anders from Apollo 8 spacecraft; NASA ID AS08-13-2225: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Public Domain, via NASA Image and Video Library

Apollo 8 imaged Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits performed by the first human-crewed mission to travel to another astronomical body.

Apollo 8 launched as the first human lunar-orbiting mission. Liftoff occurred Saturday, Dec. 21, 1968, from the John F. Kennedy Space Center’s (KSC) Launch Pad 39-A at 12:51:00 Greenwich Mean Time/Coordinated Universal Time (7:51 a.m. Eastern Standard Time).

Mission objectives included photographing lunar features. The Apollo 8 black-and-white photograph of Goclenius captures the crater’s grouping with Colombo Crater, the Magelhaens system and Gutenberg satellite D.

Goclenius Crater occupies the lunar near side’s fourth, or southeastern quadrant. In his Atlas of the Universe, English amateur astronomer Sir Patrick Moore (March 4, 1923-Dec. 9, 2012) characterized this quadrant as mainly composed of highlands (2005: page 60).

Goclenius is located along the western edge of the southern extent of Mare Fecunditatis (Sea of Fecundity). Another dark lava plain, Mare Nectaris (Sea of Nectar), lies to the crater’s west-southwest.

Goclenius is centered at minus 10.05 degrees south latitude, 45.03 degrees east longitude, according to the International Astronomical Union’s (IAU) Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. The southern hemisphere crater registers northernmost and southernmost latitudes at minus 9.17 degrees south and minus 10.93 degrees south, respectively. The eastern hemisphere crater’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 46.24 degrees east and 43.83 degrees east, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s diameter measures 73.04 kilometers.

The IAU approved Goclenius as the crater’s official name in 1935. Its name dates back to 1651, with the publication of Giovanni Battista Riccioli’s monumental Almagestum Novum (New Almagest). The Italian Jesuit astronomer (April 17, 1598-June 25, 1671) assigned the Latinized name of German polymathic physician Rudolf Göckel (Aug. 22, 1572-March 3, 1621) to the near side crater.

Magelhaens, Magelhaens A and Gutenberg D trail diagonally to the south-southwest of Goclenius. Magelhaens A is attached to its parent crater’s southeastern rim. Gutenberg D lies to the northwest of Magelhaens.

Magelhaens is centered at minus 11.98 degrees south latitude, 44.07 degrees east longitude. Its northernmost and southernmost latitudes register at minus 11.36 degrees south and minus 12.59 degrees south, respectively. The lunar impact crater’s easternmost and westernmost longitudes reach 44.7 degrees east and 43.45 degrees east, respectively. Magelhaens claims a diameter of 37.2 kilometers.

Magelhaens A is centered at minus 12.73 degrees south latitude, 44.99 degrees east longitude. The satellite obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 12.25 degrees south and minus 13.22 degrees south, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 45.49 degrees east and 44.5 degrees east, respectively. The satellite’s diameter measures 29.35 kilometers.

German astronomer and selenographer Johann Heinrich von Mädler (May 29, 1794-March 14, 1874) is credited with naming Magelhaens after Portuguese explorer Fernão de Magalhães (Ferdinand Magellan; ca. 1480-Apil 27, 1521). The IAU approved Magelhaens in 1935. Magelhaens A’s approval date was 2006.

Gutenberg D is centered at minus 10.99 degrees south latitude, 42.84 degrees east longitude. The satellite’s marks northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 10.66 degrees south and minus 11.32 degrees south, respectively. Easternmost and westernmost longitudes register at 43.17 degrees east and 42.5 degrees east, respectively. Gutenberg satellite D has a diameter of 20.07 kilometers.

Gutenberg D is named after German inventor Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (ca. 1390/1400-Feb. 3, 1468). The satellite’s name received IAU approval in 2006. Approval of Gutenberg as its parent crater’s name had been given in 1935.

Colombo A is centered at minus 14.18 degrees south latitude, 44.46 degrees east longitude. The satellite obtains northernmost and southernmost latitudes of minus 13.5 degrees south and minus 14.85 degrees south, respectively. Its easternmost and westernmost longitudes extend to 45.16 degrees east and 43.77 degrees east, respectively. A’s diameter measures 40.78 kilometers.

Colombo’s namesake is Spanish explorer Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus; ca. Aug. 26/Oct. 31, 1451-May 20, 1506). The satellite’s parent received IAU name approval in 1935. Satellite A’s name was approved in 2006.

The takeaway for Apollo 8’s image of Goclenius Crater during December 1968 lunar orbits is that the mission’s black-and-white photograph clearly captures the grouping of Goclenius with Magelhaens Crater and satellites Colombo A, Gutenberg D and Magelhaens A.

Detail of Lunar Aeronautical Chart (LAC) 79 shows grouping of Goclenius Crater with Magelhaens Crater, Magelhaens satellite A, Gutenberg satellite D and Colombo satellite A; scale 1:1,000,000; Mercator Projection: United States Air Force (USAF) Aeronautical Chart and Information Center (ACIC) via USGS/Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

Consolmagno, Guy; and Dan M. Davis. Turn Left at Orion. Fourth edition. Cambridge UK; New York NY: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

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Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/moonfulldescript00elgerich/page/129

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/8365

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/2198

International Astronomical Union. “Gutenberg D.” USGS Astrogeology Science Center > Gazetteer of Planetary Nomenclature. Last updated Oct. 18, 2010.
Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/9616

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3578

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/11040

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3673

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Available @ https://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/Feature/3683

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