On top of this, the earth is at perihelion at the moment (the point where earth is closest to the sun), so the moon will also be extra bright.

Calculations show that the moon should be 33 arcminutes and 30 arc seconds (just over half a degree) in size.

While you’re at it, put a reminder in your calendar to photograph the moon on the 24th August – this is a full moon at apogee (the point where the moon is farthest from earth), where it will appear to be only 29 arcminutes and 24 arcseconds in size.

When you take your photos, I suggest noting down the zoom, iso, shutter speed and aperture so you can compare both the size and relative brightness with August.

Here is a link to a previous post about this.

Source: Wikipedia

The Geminids are a meteor shower caused by 3200 Phaethon which should result in around 120 to 140 meteors per hour. On top of this, the best dates to view it are two days before a new moon so the sky should be nice and dark.

The meteors should radiate from the constellation Gemini, which is right next to Betelgeuse in the Orion constellation.

For more information on the Geminids, try the spacedex website.

I’m using the same account so you can find all the tweets at http://www.twitter.com/apolloecho.

As with any optics, being closer normally results in a higher resolution, and with no atmosphere on the moon to distort images, the LROC (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera) is now taking the high resolution mapping photos it was designed to take.

I wrote about the LRO back in July 2009 when it first took photos of the Apollo landing Sites. That post is available here.

Here is the first publicly released full resolution image of an Apollo landing site. It’s of the Apollo 17 landing site – the last time men set foot on the moon. (Click to enlarge)

The Apollo 17 lunar module was called Challenger and the descent stage is clearly visible. The resolution of this image is good enough that the shadow of the American Flag left behind is also resolved.

More information:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Reconnaissance_Orbiter

The shuttle is due to land at 00:09am on Friday 11 September BST (British Summer Time).

It just so happens that London will get one good chance to see the Space Station (and possibly Space Shuttle) before the Shuttle lands.

The best time for the sighting is Wednesday the 9th September at 20:34:44 BST. We would have only had average sightings, but since the ISS and Shuttle boosted their height (and adjusted their orbit) a little, we’re now getting some brighter viewing as more decent times.

Here are the times for Wednesday:
Starts: 20:34:44, 10 degrees above the horizon, South-southwest
Max elevation: 20:37:07, 24 degrees above the horizon, South-southeast
Ends: 20:38:00, 20 degrees above the horizon, East-southeast

The magnitude (brightness) of it should get brighter than -2, so it will definitely be visible to the naked eye, however binoculars or a telecope will be required to make out the shape and color of it.

Here is a diagram of the pass from www.heavens-above.com

If you’re not bothered about trying to see the space shuttle, the ISS will be about 2.4 times brighter again this Sunday.

Starts: 13 September 20:37:35,10 degrees up, West-southwest
Max elevation: 20:40:28, 80 degrees up, South-southeast
Ends: 20:41:55, 26 degrees up, East

Here’s a diagram of the brighter pass on Sunday night.

Sighting information courtesy of www.heavens-above.com

At 03:56:15am tomorrow UK (summer) time, back in 1969, Neil Armstrong placed his left foot upon the lunar regolith and said the words “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind”, while the world’s population united as history was made. Mankind will forever cherish the most important moment in modern history, as one of our own, a homo sapien simultaneously explored a new world and gained the capability to escape our certain future of extinction on Earth (home sweet home).

Voyaging to another “heavenly” body (I’m not a religious man) wasn’t without it’s risks, and President Nixon didn’t want to be caught out in the event of a disaster.  A speech was prepared for the possibility of Buzz and Neil being the first men to walk on the moon, and die on it.

Here is the speech.  Revealed in 1999, it was prepared by Nixon’s speechwriter at the time, William Safire…

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.
These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding.

They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by their nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Just reading the speech above chokes me up as I appreciate the risk that these men faced. I’m disheartened that being an “80’s child”, I didn’t witness this historical moment with my own eyes, having only witnessed it on VHS, DVD, Satellite Television and YouTube. I can only hope that one day I will be down here taking a breath of Earth’s lifesaving air while I can look up knowing that astronauts above me have left the safety of low earth orbit on a new voyage of discovery.

It’s time for mankind to make another leap. It’s been too long. We need to look beyond fossil fuels, health & safety and explore the heavens again. Not to prove anything to other nations, but because, in the words of Frank Borman (Apollo 8 Commander), “Exploration is really the essence of the human spirit. “.