Sky News - CA (2019-11 & 2019-12)

O

F All the Moon landings, the

one that may be least remem-

bered is Apollo 12. to be sure,

Apollo 11—the first time humans set foot

on another world—was a tough act to fol-

low. In November 1969, just four months

after Neil Armstrong and buzz Aldrin

departed the sea of tranquility, the public’s

attention had already shifted away from

astronauts and Moon missions to more

down-to-earth matters. And yet the fasci-

nating terrain that Apollo 12 astronauts

pete Conrad and Alan bean explored is

worth revisiting a half century later.

Apollo 12’s target location was a com-

promise between the sometimes conflicting

goals of lunar geologists and Apollo engi-

neers. In the end, they selected a spot on

the Moon’s western hemisphere (remember

that east and west on the Moon are the op-

posite of sky directions), in oceanus pro-

cellarum, roughly 400 kilometres south-

southwest of the magnificent ray crater

Copernicus. In fact, one of its rays is draped

across the landing site.

the easiest way to find the Apollo 12

landing site with your telescope is to crater-

hop, taking the time to enjoy each stop

along the way. Indeed, this is an instance of

the trip being more interesting than the

destination. begin at Copernicus, one of

the most prominent formations on the

lunar surface. the 93-kilometre-diameter

crater sports a complex set of rays—an

adornment that’s a sign of fresh-faced

youth on the Moon. And there’s an impor-

tant direct connection between Copernicus

and Apollo 12. thanks to radiometric dat-

ing of rock samples collected by Apollo 12

astronauts, scientists were able to nail down

the crater’s age with relative precision.

those rocks reveal that Copernicus formed

around 800 million years ago. that may

ON THE MOON by GARY SERONIK

APOLLO’S FORGOTTEN LANDING SITE

Fiy years ago, a second pair of astronauts touched down on the Moon

30 SKYNEWS •NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019

DESTINATION MOONTelescope users will find the route to the Apollo 12 landing site

signposted by several interesting features, including the showpiece ray crater Copernicus.

COURTESY LRO/NASA

OCEANUS

PROCELLARUM

Reinhold B

Copernicus

MARE

COGNITUM

Reinhold

Fra Mauro B

Lansberg

Apollo 12

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