A Little Fun Celebrating The 50th Anniversary Of Apollo 11. #nasa #usspaceandrocketcenter #apollo11 #apollo50thanniversary

Say cheese!

If #NationalCheeseDay has you thinking about the Moon, you’re not alone. 🧀

In 1965, the Ranger 9 probe captured these sharp images of a cratered lunar surface just moments before its planned impact. What we learned paved the way for Apollo. #Apollo50th

Bob and Doug head home from the ISS in a few days. I received my patch earlier today. Thanks to @kscartist . #launchamerica @nasa @spacex #spacex #spacexcrewdragon https://www.instagram.com/p/CDVSPNvH6pI/?igshid=1kow89xpptp3b

Watch as four astronauts ride their Crew Dragon Spacecraft, Resilience, to the ISS at 7:27pm. https://www.nasa.gov/nasalive #launchamerica #spacex #internationalspacestation #iss #nasasocial https://www.instagram.com/p/CHoM_B_DOpK/?igshid=1pjfltezp9w7p

Kinda cool when the person running a great big ol’ agency’s FB account decides your picture is worthy of said agency’s ❤️. Thanks @nasa ! #space #launchamerica #crewdragon @spacex #iss @iss @issnationallab https://www.instagram.com/p/CHStHVhDNDR/?igshid=1hpnysb816a4v

Looking Up -

When I was a kid, my parents bought me a pretty basic telescope. I’m sure it was only used less than fifty times. It was a pain to lug it outside and set up. The finder scope was always loose and impossible to align. Eventually, the telescope became part of my room decor.

It wasn’t all the telescope’s fault. I was naive and fell for the pretty pictures on the box showing me the universe. I thought I was going to set up in the backyard and find a comet in five minutes. I’d have my Doctorate by the end of the week...

Alas, the only thing I could line up was the Moon. I wasn’t patient enough to look for subtle differences from viewing to viewing. I was young, dumb, and bored. The telescope came out less often. Eventually, it quit getting brought outside at all.

Thirty five years later, a spark in me reignited. I found telescopes with red-dot finder scopes and computerized tracking. I now knew those incredible images on the old box required long exposures and specialized settings. I wanted to try again.

My new telescope has allowed me to see many aspects of the Moon I could never appreciate before. Also, with my camera mount, I can now see and photograph deep space objects. The joy I experienced on seeing my first nebula was overwhelming. I showed my wife my first picture like I was a schoolboy with an A+.

Now for the cool part... I get to share this with my daughter. At five years of age, she can identify the four major planets in the sky. I am jealous of the technology she’ll get to grow up with, but for now, we will use my telescope and maybe even find a comet.

Fun night outside! Took advantage of some tips I’ve read and watched, and captured some decent Moon images. Still have some focusing issues, but these turned out pretty good for what I was using. #celestron127slt #iphone11 #moon #astronomy #backyardastronomy https://www.instagram.com/p/CO9SFAMjd3A/?igshid=163w76p92jsl7

Falcon Heavy extreme closeup at liftoff

via reddit

Saturn 08/29/2019 from Atlanta, GA - Celestron 127slt mak, iPhone 8, registax, ps for brightness and contrast. #astrophotography #astronomy #backyardastronomy #space #atlanta #georgia #celestron127slt #celestrontelescope https://www.instagram.com/p/B1xv_NKHzPl/?igshid=8qwoa1osws83

Saturn V replica at U.S. Space and Rocket Center #apollo #apollo50thanniversary #nasa #usspaceandrocketcenter #huntsvillealabama (at U.S. Space & Rocket Center) https://www.instagram.com/p/BwyL38rHYuK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1n2w1tt0wuue4

I had a wonderful time talking to a group of kids and parents the other night. We talked about NASA, Space Science, and Women In STEM. #nasa #daisyscouts #girlscouts #solarsystemambassador https://www.instagram.com/p/CbS0W5SuIxG/?utm_medium=tumblr