July 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon that resulted in humankind walking on another celestial body. The On The Moon Again weekend was a sidewalk astronomy event to bring back the awe and wonder that the moon lands did 50 years ago.
Friday, July 12 was the perfect evening for setting up telescopes at River Landing. We had close to 150 people come to look through our telescopes and get more information about the moon.
The following evening, we were back at River Landing for round 2. Unfortunately, Mother Nature had other ideas. Our evening was mainly spent cloud watching and assuring passersby that we weren’t completely crazy. Luckily, we caught a break towards the end of the evening and we got a glimpse of the moon, Jupiter and Saturn.
On The Moon Again was a super fun event. Sidewalk astronomy nights are always a blast but this time around, there was something special. Having people look through your telescope and being able to show them where Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed was quite an honor. Science and history came together in a way that really connected us all in a way that’s tough to describe. I’m looking forward to our next sidewalk astronomy night.
And for more information about On The Moon Again, please visit: www.onthemoonagain.org