By Morgan Wenerick
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Although the first astronauts to land on the moon were American, the Apollo 11 mission in 1969 represented an achievement for all of humanity, a professor of physics and astronomy said during a speech at Towson University on Friday.
Dr. Alexander Storrs, who is the director of the Watson-King Planetarium and the Observatory at Towson, said humans are eager to study the moon because they want to know more about the Earth.
“The human race did it,” Storrs said about Apollo 11’s landing. “And it was those specific [American] astronauts. But it was all of humanity doing this. They were careful to put a plaque up there saying, ‘We came in peace for all mankind.”
He said that while he was disappointed Americans have not returned to the moon since the last landing in 1972, the missions themselves opened a door to future exploration of space.
“Certainly, what I’m celebrating is getting out of the cradle,” Storrs said. “It’s like the first time the toddler stands up, stops crawling, and actually stands up and starts to walk. And now that toddler’s going to spend the rest of its life walking. We hope.”
Storrs’ lecture was part of Towson’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of the moon landing. It was held at Smith Hall.
He said that while the Apollo missions to the lunar surface taught people a great deal, it raised even more interesting questions to investigate.
“I’d like them to understand that we have continued to explore the moon, that Apollo did not answer all the questions, and that later missions have brought up even broader questions, more detailed questions,” Storrs said. “We’re finding more and more fascinating, unique features that Apollo had missed.”
Storrs showed slides of the moon’s surface and its characteristics, pointing out where the United States, Russia and China have landed.
Storrs said that particles flying through space “rain down” on the moon, causing the mountains on the moon to be smoothed over. These lunar mountains are hit by dust the size of grains of sand coming in at speeds ten times faster than a high-speed rifle bullet, Storrs said.
As the dust hits the mountains, the older, grayer surface is eroded away, revealing a fresher, whiter surface beneath, Storrs said. He said that the younger surfaces that are uncovered are more reflective, making the moon shine brighter when the sun’s light hits it.
Permanently shadowed craters are extremely cold, Storrs said, adding that temperature maps indicate the possibility that ice has formed in the center of these moon pits. These craters are located at the top and bottom Poles of the moon, and since the sun will never hit them, the ice has formed there, Storrs said. Spacecraft, he said, have analyzed these areas, proving that there is indeed water on the moon.
Craters, the most popular and noticeable characteristic of the moon, are caused by rock debris flying through space that hit and bury themselves beneath the moon’s surface, Storrs said. He said the rocks’ kinetic energy from hurtling through space acts as the force that pulverizes the lunar surface and causes the debris to penetrate deeper into the moon, Storrs said.
Storrs points out numerous craters, including one called Mare Tranquillitatis. The name is Latin for the “Sea of Tranquility” and Apollo 11 landed inside it. He said Mare Imbrium, Latin for “Sea of Showers/Rains,” is the largest crater on the side of the moon facing the Earth.
The Russians were actually the first ones to see the far side of the moon, he said, when they sent up the Luna 3 in 1959 to photograph it. China recently sent probes to land on the far side, Storrs said.