One small step revisited

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Wednesday marks the 45th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 carrying the first humans to another celestial body. Buzz Aldrin is asking peole around the world to share their recollection of where they were and what they felt when Eagle landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Confirmed now: Voyager 1 is gone – Now beyond the heliosphere – the pulsating bubble of electromagnetic particles constantly blasting out of the sun. V1 left earth in 1977. To escape the solar system entirely, it’ll have to escape the Oort Cloud – NASA says that will happen in 14,000 to 28,000 years! Great summer constellations in place for viewing: Hercules at the top of the sky w/ M13, Cygnus in the east w/ Albireo, Sagittarius and Scorpio in the south. Big dipper in the NW and MW N-S very high eastern sky. Samll scopes and binocs are perfect for use now. Still possible to catch Mercury and Venus in the pre-dawn sky. Saturn and Mars have the evenings covered.

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