Rubrik: Worth seeing
Neil Alden Armstrong (1930–2012) was a US American astronaut, who was the first man to set foot on the Moon as the commander of the Apollo 11 mission on 21st July 1969, and hence the first to step on a foreign celestial body. The mission was preceded by a fierce competition about the »reign« of space, between the then super powers USA and Soviet Union, so that the success of Apollo 11 turned out to not only have a historical meaning but also had a political relevance.
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The end of August 2012 will bring another »blue moon«. This is what you call the second full moon within a month. It happens from time to time, because the lunar cycle is shorter, with its averaging 29.5 days, than the normal calendar month. Just like in August of this year, with a full moon on 02.08. and one on 31.08.2012. We have already described here why this double full moon is called »blue moon«.
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Looking at the Moon, you can recognise the spots on the surface with the naked eye, which are termed lunar maria and have always been inspiring people’s imagination. It is actually molten rock that rose to the surface during the origin of the Moon and then hardened. If looked at closer and using a telescope as an aid, you are able to make out mountains and valleys and a large amount of craters. In short: they are landscapes that give our Moon its face.
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A hotel on the Moon – that sounds quite utopian if not absurd. Fact is, there are people thinking about colonising and inhabiting space or other celestial bodies, since man has been busy flying into space. And if we believe the statements of different companies that are planning hotels beyond the Earth, there has to be a great demand. This would actually be also necessary to make this project lucrative. Or is it merely the prestige and publicity, which are reaped by such an undertaking and hence would justify it?
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Photography had not yet been invented when the British painter J. M. William Turner (1775–1851) created his painting »Fishermen at Sea« in 1796, where he depicts a nightly scenery at a tempestuous sea, which is lit by the full moon midst heavy clouds. This painting was the first exhibited oil painting by the then 21 year-old Turner and marked the beginning of a great career.
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In 1977 the English music group The Kinks, released their album »Sleepwalker«, with which they returned to the more rocky sounds of the 60s after a more conceptual and overtexted phase, and thus were at least able to resume their previous success.
The Kinks are considered to be one of the most important British rock bands of this time, next to The Beatles, Rolling Stones and The Who.
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Who believes to see a staggering Moon at night, has probably had a drop too much, although a staggering movement of the Moon actually exists in astronomy. This is called »libration«, but happens very slowly and is therefore only visible by the naked eye in time-lapse photography.
The Moon orbits around the Earth in a so called synchronous rotation. This means that it always faces one hemisphere towards the Earth, while the reverse side of the Moon is not visible from Earth. Due to certain physical conditions (relating to orbits, angular velocity, centres of mass, among others), what happens is that the visible surface of the Moon varies slightly during the course of the moon cycle, and there is a gentle change of inclination of the Moon’s axis or it appears to turn a little.
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Potassium, aluminium, silicon, oxygen and some other ingredients result in a mineral in a certain compound, which has received the name moonstone due to its whitish, shimmering glow. This stone has already been known in old cultures. The Romans viewed it as solidified rays of the Moon, the old Greek connected it to the moon goddess Selene.
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This article is for all lovers who are far apart from each other – maybe due to travelling, maybe because of personal circumstances.
Sometimes we have to learn not to experience geographical distance as inner distance. But although it is said, love surmounts time and space, one still has a longing for closeness, which is difficult to push aside, despite all sensible thoughts. A kiss over the phone is simply not the same as the moment when lips touch.
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Have you ever wondered, after you took a photograph of the full moon that the Moon looks much smaller on the picture than as it appears to you in real? This effect occurs particularly when the Moon is above the horizon. This is a so-called Moon illusion, which is an optical illusion, meaning it can only be seen this way through our perception and is therefore not depicted on the photograph.
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