Good Morning, Good Bye

Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong, Apollo 11 Commander, inside the Lunar Module as it rests on the lunar surface after completion of his historic moonwalk. Image Credit: NASA 

IN REMEMBRANCE: Straight out of bed, the kids huddled on the couch, eating Honey Nut Cheerios and watching the memorial for astronaut Neil Armstrong broadcast on NASA TV.

As he listened to a succession of people talk about what a remarkable man Armstrong was, CJ took pause and said, "This is a really big deal, isn't it?"

Yes, CJ it is.

The memorial was held at the breathtaking National Cathedral. One of its amazing stained glass windows is "The Space Window." Per Armstrong's official memorial program, the window "symbolizes both spiritual and scientific connections to the mystery of the cosmos and is one of the best-loved stained glass windows at
the Cathedral." It's on the south aisle of the Cathedral.

PHOTO: Pgmark at en.wikipedia

One of the things making the window unique is the design continues across all three panels or lancets of the window. Artist Rodney Winfield was said to be inspired by photographs taken during Apollo 11, Armstrong's moon walking mission, for the color palette. If you look closely from these inside and outside vantage points,, you can see a thin white line extending from a dark sphere in the lower corner. That represents a spaceship leaving Earth, shooting toward the stars.

Embedded in a small round piece of white glass in the center of a deep red upper sphere is a 2 3/8" moon rock. Approximately 3.6 billion years old, it's sealed between tempered glass and steel in an inert nitrogen environment. Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins and Armstrong presented the sample to the Cathedral on July 21, 1974. The window was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the first steps on the moon.

The inscription at the bottom of the window reads: “Is Not God in the Height of Heaven?” (Job 22:12)

In case you missed it, Armstrong's memorial is archived here:: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/25379413
There is about three minutes of NASA fillers preceding the memorial.

TO THE TEST: The kids are starting a weekly math class next week, and had to take "where we're at" (to use bad grammar) math assessment before getting started. The test is called the Diagnostic Online Math Assessment. We logged into a Web site called "Let's Go Learn" in order for the kids to take it.

The kids were about a half hour into the test when CJ declared, "I think I'm going to stop here."

Ummm, no. Sorry. Not how that works, kiddo. I informed them the test is over when the test says it's over, not by their declaration. And so they soldiered on. I tried to reassure them they wouldn't ever have to take the test again after they completed it.

CJ countered with, "Not unless you suck horribly." And when he was done he remarked, "I hope they don't put me in kindergarten math."

I don't think it will come to that.

YOGA-A-GO-GO: Happily, today marked a return to yoga class for the kids, with much adored teacher Nicole Koleshis. And especially happily, we didn't have to drive 45 minutes to Rainier Valley during rush hour to get to class. Instead, Nicole is offering an 8-week series of classes at Shakti Vinyasa Yoga  in Ballard.

It's a large, beautiful studio and the kids both enjoyed being back on the mat and with Nicole.

FACES: We've all seen the face on the moon multiple times, because staring at the moon is something human eyes can handle. But did you know that the sun's surface has facial features when imaged using different wavelengths.

Here is a video progression of 11 different images taken by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.


OH AND: In a few spare moments this afternoon, we watched a rocket launch. Of course I'm drawn in by any rocket launch, but I have to admit, the blue buffalo mission mascot really captured our fancy. :)

The mission, NROL-36, was the United States National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), taking off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. It was billed as being "in support of national defense."

The Atlas V rocket launched right on time, heading up through fog and mist. Its cargo was , and the United Launch Alliance narrator announced shortly after lift off that "at our customer's request" (that would be the U.S. ) the actual cargo deployment wouldn't be shown. Can you say 'spy satellite' anyone?