Apollo 11: The 50th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, July 20th, 1969

Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, 

Michael Collins, and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin. 

Photograph, 1969. Granger, NYC / The Granger Collection

July 20th, 2019 will be the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11 -- the first time humans set foot on another world. The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s 1962 challenge to the American people to send astronauts to the Moon and return them home safely before the end of the 1960s.

This was an era of fierce rivalry between the capitalist ideology of the United States and communist ideology of the Soviet Union. The leaders of each nation viewed space as an arena to showcase the achievements of their nation’s competing ideologies. President Kennedy’s 1962 challenge to put Americans on the Moon by the end of the decade was an audacious gamble made at a time when the Soviets had taken the lead in what has become known as the “Space Race.”

Overcoming the tremendous engineering and logistical challenges of reaching the Moon and returning to Earth required the combined efforts and resourcefulness of hundreds of thousands of men and women from vastly diverse backgrounds. But Apollo 11 was more than a technological triumph -- it was a personal triumph for astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Years of hard-won experience as pilots and further years of grueling astronaut training culminated in Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin becoming the first persons to set foot on the Moon. Orbiting overhead, Michael Collins piloted the lunar command module that would return the trio of astronauts to Earth.

Despite the deep ideological differences spurring the Space Race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, Neil Armstrong’s words as he set foot on the Moon celebrated the achievement as a victory for all humanity without regard to ideology or nationality: “That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The success of Apollo 11 has fired the imaginations of countless scientists, engineers, and artists ever since, and the legacy of the first Moon landing continues to inspire plans to return to the Moon and to travel further to the asteroids and Mars.

To learn more about the first landing on the Moon browse the books on display in the entry of the Al Harris Library. You’re welcome to check out any of the books on display.

Photography

Although photography as a medium is less than 200 years old, it plays a large part in our lives: television, movies, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  How much less would cell phones be used if we couldn’t take the ubiquitous selfie?  Photography is also a huge part of advertising and publishing – selling everything from seed catalogs to cat calendars.  Photos sell products, but photography has become an art form in itself.  Photos can record history and possibly the future.  We have photos which detail the surface of Mars and the bottom of the ocean.  Come by the Al Harris Library to see a display of books on photography and take your favorite book home to read!

                                                 

Weather and Weather Forecasting

The constantly changing weather, a favorite topic of daily personal discussions, has since ancient times been very important to our lives.  Weather forecasts assist us in making decisions about when we travel, how we dress, and how to be prepared for changes, such as winter weather, poor road conditions, flooding, or tornadoes. Weather forecasts are very important to farmers, since weather affects farmers’ crops significantly which ultimately affects all of us.  One of the most significant uses of weather forecasts is that of the protection of life and property by warning us of impending weather. 

Although meteorology, including recording weather observations, explaining the action of the atmosphere, and predicting wind and rain, are ancient practices, modern day meteorology has become very sophisticated and provides more accurate predictions.  Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time.  Although weather forecasting was at one time calculated by hand based mainly on changes in barometric pressure, current weather conditions, and sky condition, it now relies on computer-based models that take many atmospheric factors into consideration.  

If you would like to understand more about the weather, please come by and take a look at one of the many books on the weather display at the Al Harris Library.  They are all available for checkout!