"Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the moon July 1969, A.D. We came in peace for all mankind." – From the plaque left on the moon by Apollo astronauts

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – One of the many advantages to living in beautiful Lake County is the fact that we boast our very own observatory.

I had the good fortune to attend another of Taylor Observatory's informative and entertaining evening events recently.

Tim Gill, talented mathematician, who works with Kelseyville Unified School District, gave a fascinating talk on celestial navigation techniques over time.

Not only did he thoroughly describe the workings of a sextant, but also discussed earlier navigational methods, such as the Polynesian hand method, the Arab Kamal and the quadrant- all unknown to me prior to his talk.

Space expert Eduardo Alatorre guided us through the fascinating dome show on ancient mythology and constellations.

Bill Haddon, president of the Friends of the Taylor Observatory gave a brief overview of upcoming events to be hosted at Taylor Observatory, one of which is to be held on Saturday, July 20.

Then, the presentation titled, "The 50th Anniversary of Apollo 11" will be held, which leads me to ask, "Can you believe that July 20, 2019, marks 50 years since humans landed on the moon on July 20, 1969?”

I, like millions of others, watched the lunar landing on TV and, running outdoors to peer up at the moon, was struck with wonder and awe.

Throughout my decades-long teaching career I enjoyed learning right along with my fourth graders, and one of the most exciting subjects to study was science. Several times we were able to compare NASA's national treasures, the lunar samples, to rocks found here in Lake County. I trained at NASA Ames Research Center to handle the lunar samples before signing my life away to obtain and interpret them in the classroom.

As I mentioned in the now defunct Middletown Times Star, the lunar samples, small rocks and soils obtained from the over 800 pounds of rocks brought back to Earth from some of the six manned moon missions which spanned the years 1969-1973 were encased in a clear, plastic disc so that they would not oxidize.

The rocks and soils were viewed via a computer microscope. The six samples included Mare Soil, the fragments of which were produced by meteorites hitting basalts. The Mare Soil held grains of the minerals feldspar and pyroxene and were collected by the Apollo 17 mission, the last mission by humans to the moon.

Breccia was viewed, which was collected by the Apollo 15 astronauts near Hadley Rille, a canyon-like depression on the moon. Breccias are made of fragments of other rocks that were smashed by meteorite bombardment on the moon.

We viewed Orange Soil, which is a mixture of dark red-orange and black spheres returned by Apollo 17 astronauts when they used a shovel to collect this unique soil at the moon's Mare Serenitatis.

Orange Soil originated more than 3.5 billion years ago from volcanic lava sprays. When the debris was in flight, it cooled to form the tiny glass spheres.

Anorthosite is a breathtakingly beautiful white rock comprised mainly of feldspar crystals. This sample was retrieved from the moon's Descartes region in the light colored highlands of the center of the moon by Apollo 16 astronauts. Anorthosite's crystals were once pale gray, but when meteorites bombarded the moon and broke the crust into fragments, the feldspar was 'shocked' and shattered, turning the crystals white.

We viewed Highland Soil which was collected by the Apollo 16 astronauts near the moon's center, on highlands between dare “mare” areas. This soil is composed of particles of rocks, mineral grains and glass melted during the meteorite impacts on the moon's surface long ago. The glasses included in the Highland Soil are many colors, such as brown, pale green, grey, and black.

The other lunar sample in the disc was Basalt. Basalt formed when lava spilled onto the moon's surface and cooled, then crystallized. The grains in the basalt were pyroxene, feldspar, olivine and iron titanium oxide. The sample was collected in August 1971 by the Apollo 15 astronauts at the east edge of Mare Imbrium, the large circular area on the moon's upper left surface.

Students learned that 12 men walked on the moon from 1969-1973, and there were six manned landings. All moon rocks are igneous. Moon rocks are similar to Earth rocks, but Moon rocks contain no water and Earth rocks do. It is easy for scientists to tell them apart under a microscope and by analyzing their chemistry.

Another moon musing that I shared in the Lake County News, in 2009 I had a rare opportunity to shake hands with the great Apollo 10 astronauts Commander Thomas Stafford and Lunar Module pilot Eugene Cernan. It was an honor to briefly meet the esteemed astronauts at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa then.

The famed astronauts were in Santa Rosa to kick off an exhibit "To the Moon: Snoopy Soars with NASA" which ran in 2009. The last astronaut on the moon, Eugene Cernan, passed away at age 82 on January 16, 2017.

These brave men belonged to a special club – the rare men blessed with vivid memories of having voyaged to the moon and back. They viewed our fragile blue planet from their unique vantage points, in awe of what they witnessed.

When Gene Cernan saw Earth from the moon he is reported to have said that he was looking out from "God's front porch." According to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, in 2009, Cernan also stated, "If we could put everybody on that spot for five minutes, the Earth would be a different place."

Be sure to take advantage of one of our county's treasures, Taylor Observatory.
Friends of Taylor Observatory is collaborating with many stakeholders to obtain Dark Sky Certification from the International Dark Sky Association.

According to The Friends of Taylor Observatory's Web site, the Dark Sky initiative's goals are "To preserve our ability to see a spectacular night sky... to foster an astronomy tourism industry ... and to preserve our wonderful Lake County dark skies for future generations of students."

To learn more visit the Web sites for the Friends of Taylor Observatory,the International Dark-Sky Association or NASA.

Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, freelance writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.”