In The Beginning God.... Apollo 8 -- 50 Year Anniversary

The famous "Earthrise" photo  taken from lunar orbit by astronaut
Bill Anders on December 24, 1968.

Fifty years ago this Christmas the world watched in a mixture of excitement and wonder as the three-man crew of Apollo 8 -- Frank Frederick Borman II, Jim Arthur Lovell Jr. and William Alison Anders -- blasted off from Pad 39A at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States for a six-day trip to the Moon and back, becoming the first human beings to leave Earth behind, fly around the Moon and return safely home.

The six-day mission began on 21st December 1968 and included a day orbiting the Moon, when the astronauts took the now famous "Earthrise" picture -- one of the most celebrated photographs ever taken of our planet. Circling the Moon on Christmas Eve, the crew shared their thoughts in a public broadcast, reading a passage from Genesis, the first book of the Bible.

 

William Anders

 

"We are now approaching lunar sunrise, and for all the people back on Earth, the crew of Apollo 8 has a message that we would like to send to you. 

 

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness." 

 

James Lovell

 

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman

 

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."

 

"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." 

The return trip home was uneventful, the capsule splashing down successfully in the Pacific Ocean on 27th December. The success of Apollo 8 showed that it was possible to take astronauts safely to the Moon and bring them home; the next major task would be learning how to land on the lunar surface.

US Postage Stamp commemorating
the Apollo 8 Lunar Orbit Mission.
Issued on Monday, May 5, 1969.
Over 187 million of these stamps
were made.

Night Sky Photography -- 12-22/23-2018 -- Winter Solstice Full Moon & Constellation Orion!

Greetings fellow stargazers!

On Saturday, December 22, 2018, the final full moon of the year, falling less than a day after the winter solstice, which marks the official first day of winter. In North America, we call the December full moon the Long Night Moon, or Cold Moon. The names originate from the Native Americans, who marked December's full Moon as the beginning of the coldest part of the year. Also, the Long Night Moon is named after the longest night of the year on the winter solstice.

The peak time of the full moon will occur on December 22 at 12:49 p.m. EST while the winter solstice falls a day earlier on December 21. However, to the typical person viewing the moon, it will appear full for several days. The last time the December solstice and full moon happened less than a day apart was in 2010, and the next time will be 2029. The last time the full moon coincided with the winter solstice was in 2010. The next time it happen will be in December of 2094 -- so I was really hoping for good weather to see it this time around, as you can imagine. 

The first photo I took over Main Street in my hometown of Chester, South Carolina with the Christmas lights combined with the city lighting in the foreground. This one turned out really well, I think. My next shot was a close-up of the Full Winter Solstice Moon.

I stayed awake until after midnight to get another shot of the full moon in the southern sky from my back yard and got an extra special bonus -- the entire constellation Orion! If not for the nearby city lights (or a fifteen minute drive up HWY 321) perhaps I could have gotten a clearer shot. As it was my DSC-H300 Sony camera managed to pick up all the major stars in the constellation as you can see from the photos. In the second shot I highlighted the constellation itself (though I admit I might have been slightly off on Orion's "club" near Luna, but I did my best since those stars didn't show up well in the Cold Moon's brightness). 

My final shot of the Full Winter Solstice Moon turned out beautiful with Luna in all of her glory. The dark "seas" and the Tycho Crater all came out really clear in the shot. 
 

Well folks, I hope y'all enjoyed my photos. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. As always have a wonderful evening and keep looking to the night skies, y'all!

Town Of Lowrys Christmas Parade 2018

Tractor and float sponsored by the Brigadier General Micah
Jenkins Camp #1569 Sons of Confederate Veterans of Rock Hill,
South Carolina at the annual 2018 Town of Lowrys (SC)
Christmas Parade.

Merry Christmas Greetings and Happy Holiday Salutations, Y'all!

Well its that time of the year again. The annual Christmas parade in the small, rural town of Lowrys, South Carolina, a yearly tradition of this blogger as well. 

Despite the previous day's rainy weather and threats of more rain from the overcast sky, close to 20,000 people attended -- either as participants, or as spectators (many of the later group camping out overnight traditionally like a block party, or a sporting event). 

Every year since 2014 yours truly has taken part in the parade with members of the Brigadier General Micah Jenkins Camp #1459 Sons of Confederate Veterans with their sponsored float. Another good occasion for me to put on the gray uniform of my Confederate ancestor and promote a positive image of our shared Southern-Confederate historical heritage for others. 

As always the SCV and UDC members were heavily welcomed and cheered. Over a thousand small Confederate (Dixie Cross) battle flags were passed out, as well as about six ten-gallon buckets full of candy to some very happy kids. This year even Santa Claus wanted one of the battle flags! 

Here are the photos taken by this blogger of the event. Enjoy!

Santa wanted a Dixie Cross flag also!
Merry Christmas From Dixie, Y'all!

As always I hope y'all enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoy posting them. Here is wishing all of y'all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 2018!