July 20, 2014
One of the Billions of Memories
image by Ricardo Jose Vaz Tolentino
I remember like it was yesterday! I was 9 years old and felt a happy atmosphere of coziness and dreams of a childhood lived in the beautiful 60s. We were at our house in Rio de Janeiro, witnessing an unprecedented program, on a black & white television, with the images in shades of gray and a low sharpness, but showing something unbelievable to some and impossible until that moment in human history: two men walking on the Moon! The two astronauts were walking and skipping, and wearing white "fluffy" clothes, like chubby figures. During the transmission, English phrases were said and interrupted by a kind of "beep" from radio communications.
In the innocence of the 60s, many could not believe what they saw, especially the elderly. They said that it was a lie and it was a "theater". From that historic day, when any child of that time was asked about the names of the three Apollo 11 astronauts, could be heard, with firmness and pride, the following response: Armstrong, Collins and Adrin! Only one year after this great event, in 1970 in Brazil, a child of the time, saved more new names in a prominent place in his memoirs: the names of the players of the Brazilian football team, three-time champion of the world, led by Pele!
I sincerely believe that Project Apollo inspired my generation. Because of this, in my case, an unconscious reflex showed me the beautiful paths to the Moon, through the use of optical equipment. Thus, I consider myself a "ground-based astronaut", making my trips to the Moon through the views gained from the hatch, I mean, eyepieces of my telescopes and the selenophotos that I execute.
Ricardo Jose Vaz Tolentino
Technical Details
Sky-Watcher Collapsible Truss-Tube 12" DOB.+ Celestron Ultima 2X Barlow + Orion StarShoot Solar System Color Imager Camera III - just one frame.
Related Links
21st Century Atlas chart 7.
Yesterday's LPOD: Don't Get Dizzy
Tomorrow's LPOD: A New One
COMMENTS?
Register, Log in, and join in the comments.
