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April 30, 2024

Moon II

the moon made from a mosaic of images
A mosaic image of the lunar north pole in 2010. / NASA JPL

The drive was projected at a sprightly four hours and change, but eight hours later, we were only just closing in on home. If the trip had required 80 hours, I would’ve still said yes.

The cost could not compare to watching the afternoon sky fill with the glowing, white streamers of the sun’s corona and a round hole so black that I could imagine climbing through into a parallel universe.

I haven’t sat down to write about what I saw earlier this month, and I won’t here, but this is the best description I’ve come across: “Our life is now measured by a greater cycle. It's no longer a second and a minute hand, and an hour, a day. But if you start using eclipse cycles, how many do you have? Not that many.”

This isn’t any chunk of rock floating around. It’s our moon. THE moon.

The psychology of experiences like this, and the economics, make for good reading. Breeze through those and dwell instead on one of the most impressive archival projects I have ever known.

“Apollo In Real Time” synchronized thousands and thousands of hours of audio and visuals from the U.S. moon missions. It’s epic and immersive and feels like a video game with so much territory to explore.

Like a total solar eclipse, though, you really have to see it for yourself.

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This newsletter was written on the traditional lands of the Piscataway and Nacotchtank.

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