It’s almost the 51st anniversary of the Apollo 11 astronauts first landing on the Moon. And what better way to commemorate and celebrate this historical event than to pull out your telescopes and binoculars to try to spot the famous mission’s destination?
Of course, there is no possibility that you’ll be able to see the lunar lander; it is far too tiny to see even through a large telescope using very high power.
However, it isn’t at all hard to scan the unique region of the Moon as Mare Tranquillitatis, or the Sea of Tranquility, where the two Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin fling for a few short hours on the lunar surface.
1969, Sunday 20th of July, the night when the well-known event occurred, the Moon was waxing crescent, 35.4% brightened by the Sun.
Here are five things about the Moon you can share with others when gazing up at our natural satellite. And also how you can find the landing site of Apollo 11.
How far away is the Moon?
The Moon is farther away from Earth than people often think.
A good ballpark number to remember is that the Moon is about a quarter of a million miles away or just about 400,000 kilometers.
It’s such a big gap that you could just about fit the other seven significant planets into the space between the two worlds.
Astronauts from three of the Apollo missions, including Apollo 11, placed individual reflectors on the lunar surface that is still used to determine the Moon’s distance with extreme precision.
They’ve shown that the Moon is moving away from Earth by about an inch and a half yearly.
How big is the Moon?
This one is another very easy approximation to remember. The Moon is about one-fourth the size of Earth in diameter. It’s about as wide as the United States.
What color is the Moon?
The Moon doesn’t emit its light. It reflects light from the Sun. And up close, the Moon’s surface is grey, like old well-worn asphalt.
Why do we always see the same side of the Moon?
It may not look like it, but the Moon does rotate on its axis, much like Earth.
We always see mainly the same face as the Moon because it orbits around Earth in the same amount of time it takes to rotate.
The reason is related to gravity and the same forces that cause daily ocean tides.
A side note is that since it’s rotating, there is no permanent dark side of the Moon.
The changing phases of the Moon demonstrate how the portion of its surface lit by the Sun revolves around the Moon every month over the lunar day.
What are the dark areas on the Moon?
One of the main things you notice when observing the Moon is its bright and dark areas across its surface.
Everybody’s familiar with the man on the Moon. The dark areas are known as a mare.
These are the Moon’s maria or, in the singular, lunar mare (the Latin word for sea), which cover about 17% of the lunar crust.
The lunar mare is a volcanic basin created in the aftermath of ancient impacts billions of years ago.
After the impact, the craters filled with lava, which eventually cooled to form smooth dark plains.
One of the most famous moirés is the Sea of Tranquility. This was the landing site for Apollo 11. In part because it was relatively smooth and level.
Can you find Apollo 11 landing site from Earth?
Apollo 11– Sea of Tranquility
Apollo 12– Ocean of Storms
Apollo 14– Fra Mauro
Apollo 15– Hadley-Apennine
Apollo 16– Descartes Mountains
Apollo 17– Taurus-Littrow
How to locate the Sea of Tranquility. Look for these two significant dark markings that overlap.
They will be on the Moon’s right side if you’re facing south. Tranquility is the lower of the two, and the Apollo 11 landing site is right there. (See picture above).
The video below shows the six Apollo moon landing sites (including Apollo 11) through photos taken from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. Credit: Forrest Haggerty youtube.
Credits: NASA Goddard/Arizona State University
Fifty years later, NASA continues revealing the Moon’s secrets to send the next human astronauts there soon.
You can read more about Apollo and NASA’s plans for the Moon at nasa.gov.
That’s it, and I hope you enjoyed this article. Please check out this article: Summary of Apollo 11 Events.
The new book ‘How We Got to the Moon’ will reveal a stunning look at Apollo 11 Mission to the Moon.
Find your Moon here for Christmas, Thanksgiving, birthdays, parties, weddings, anniversaries, lovers, kids, children’s bedrooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and outdoor decorations, a favorite gift for your friends or lover.