Space (part 2): Earthrise - 1968

Earth Rise/wikipedia.com

Fifty years ago - 1968 

Earth was a troubled place

Some highlights in America at that time:

* The unpopular Vietnam War and more unpopular draft

* Assassination: Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy

* Riots at the Chicago Democratic National Convention

* Counter-culture hippie movement

* President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Elect Richard M. Nixon

A popular TV show at that time was The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967 - 1970). The show featured s labor of love by filmmaker Chuck Braverman, described as:

A quick trip through the USA during the turbulent 1968

(reference: https://youtu.be/vtz5Emyldwg )

But in December 1968, Apollo 8  sent astronauts, Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders, orbiting the moon for the first time in history.

On their Christmas Eve broadcast, the crew transmitted the iconic Earthrise photo while reading from Genesis, as shown below: 

(reference: https://youtu.be/SxiTKeQVjuo )

Back to the future, 50 years later, these still are troubled times.

As we finish the year 2018, words from a hymn, This is My Father's World come to mind. And the last verse, not always included in other renditions, gives the reason we celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world:

This is my Father’s world:

Oh, let me ne’er forget

That though the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the ruler yet.

This is my Father’s world,

The battle is not done:

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and Heav’n be one.

And in the closing words of astronaut Frank Borman:

"And from the crew of Apollo 8, 

we close with good night, good luck, 

a Merry Christmas, 

and God bless all of you -

 all of you on the good Earth." 

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Other post in the series:

Space (part 1) - NASA at 60 (2018)

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Photo from: Earth Rise/wikipedia.com

Science 101 (part 7) - Sun Henge

Summer Solstice Sunrise over Stonehenge 2005/wikipedia.com

The Summer Solstice 

As of this posting, it's coming up June 21, 2018.

When the day will get as long as it will get this year. At least in the northern hemisphere.

The Science?

It's explained in this video:

(reference: https://youtu.be/BoBg_FFystw )

An intriguing spot to observe the solstice is in England.

Stonehenge

Many gather there for various reasons to observe and experience the turning point of the seasons. For the Solstice can not only be reduced to a scientific fact. But also one of myth and lore and wonder.

The video below relives the longest day of the year at Stonehenge with sunset on 20 June and sunrise on 21 June, 2017.

(reference: https://youtu.be/1qsFbwZ-uKY )

For many, the Solstice is a mystical, spiritual, even religious experience. 

And in that vein of thought, let's go back to the revelation of the origin of the seasons:

In the Beginning...

As in Genesis 1:

And God said, 

Let there be lights
 in the firmament of the heaven 

to divide 
the day from the night; 

and let them be 
for signs, 

and for seasons, 

and for days, 

and years:

And let them be for lights 

in the firmament of the heaven 

to give light upon the earth: 

and it was so.

And God made two great lights; 

the greater light to rule the day, 

and the lesser light to rule the night: 

He made the stars also.

And God set them 
in the firmament of the heaven 

to give light upon the earth,

And to rule over the day 

and over the night, 

and to divide the light 
from the darkness: 

and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14-18 (KJV)

And for a Summer Solstice that is really out of this world, check out the view from the International Space Station:

( reference: https://youtu.be/Kb84FkTuHuQ )

And God saw 
every thing
 that He had made, 

and, behold,
 it was very good. 

...

Genesis 1:31 (KVJ)


So marks the changing of the seasons.

Have a blessed summer!

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Previous posts in this series:

Science 101 (part 1) - Vernal Equinox  (2013)

Science 101 (part 2) - The Sound of Music? (2013)

Science 101 (part 3) - From Galileo to Apollo (2013)

Science 101 (part 4) - Cosmos Continued ... (2014) 

Science 101 (part 5) - August Meteor Showers (2016)

Science 101 (part 6) - June's Strawberry Moon  (2017)

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Photo:  Summer Solstice Sunrise over Stonehenge 2005/wikipedia.com