Tag: NASA

Solar Eclipse Glasses Available!

- Stephanie Leave a comment

We have solar eclipse glasses available while supplies last at the Davenport Public Library locations. Stop by the front desk to pick up your glasses. Glasses are available on a first come, first serve basis, so we won’t be allowing any holds. The annular solar eclipse is this Saturday, October 14th, so make sure to get your glasses!

According to NASA, “an annular solar eclipse happens when the Moon passes between the Sun and Earth, but when it is at or near its farthest point from Earth. Because the Moon is farther away from Earth, it appears smaller than the Sun and does not completely cover the Sun. As a result, the Moon appears as a dark disk on top of a larger, bright disk, creating what looks like a ring around the Moon.”

Curious what the October annular solar eclipse on Saturday, October 14th and the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024 will look like? You can check out an eclipse simulator online. If you are unable to see the eclipse in person, you can watch a livestream online through the NASA website.

It’s incredibly important when you are wearing your eclipse glasses that you follow some important tips for eye safety. NASA has put together a handy website with tips for the annular solar eclipse and eye safety.

Fun fact: you can save your glasses until next spring when a total solar eclipse happens on April 8, 2024. Your glasses are also only good for three years, so you should discard them after those three years.

We hope to see you to pick up glasses for the eclipse before Saturday, October

July 20th is Moon Day

- Rachel Leave a comment

full_apollo11On July 20, 1969, man landed on the Moon for the first time.  Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first two human beings to step onto the Moon and they spent two and a half hours on the surface of the Moon. During that time, Armstrong and Aldrin took pictures, did experiments and collected 46 pounds of Moon rocks.  They left behind an American Flag, a patch honoring the crew of Apollo 1 and a plaque.  The plaque reads, “Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969. We came in peace for all mankind”.

NASA had been challenged by President Kennedy to put a man on the Moon before the decade was out and NASA met that challenge. The Moon landing was a great technological achievement, perhaps the greatest achievement in human history.

 

New MoonIf you are interested in learning more about the Moon, check out The New Moon: Water, Exploration and Future Habitation by Arlin Crotts.  Crotts is a professor of astronomy at Columbia University. This book explores the history of exploration on the Moon and discusses discoveries that are being uncovered.  It is the complete story of mankind and the lunar experience.  Crotts presents little-known, but significant events in lunar science for the first time.  He also explains the environment on the Moon and the possibility of making the Moon habitable for humans.

The Davenport Public Library owns many more books about the Moon!  To learn more, visit any one of our locations.  Most books about the Moon are located at 523.3 in the non-fiction section of the library.

Did you know that you can read newspaper articles about the moon landing from 1969?  Check out our Newspaper Archives, one of our databases. Go to our homepage at www.davenportlibrary.com and look for Online Resources.

 

There And Back Again

- Ann 1 Comment

earth from the moon40 years ago today, while millions watched from their living rooms, Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon and suddenly we had a whole new perspective on our world. We’ve come a long way since then – space shuttles and space walks and space stations – but that first step and all of the struggle and work that led up to it continues to fascinate us. The library has all kinds of books  about the Apollo missions including:

Rocket Men: the Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon by Catherine Thimmesh

Moondust: in Search of the Men Who Feel to Earth by Andrew Smith

Apollo: the Epic Journey to the Moon by David West Reynolds

If you’d prefer to watch your history (and watch actual footage taken at the moon) check out these DVDs:

From the Earth to the Moon – the acclaimed HBO series co-produced by Tom Hanks.

In the Shadow of the Moon: Remember When the Whole World Looked Up – original NASA film footage and interviews with surviving astronauts recall this epic chapter in American history.

The Right Stuff – fictionalized account of the early Apollo missions brings a very human face to the science and technology.