Quick_Nick
Passed the Turing Test
This may have been posted already. Buzz and Mike at Neil's funeral: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nasahqphoto/7901621786/
News Neil has passed away
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Andy44
owner: Oil Creek Astronautix
Vast fury
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His presence may no longer be in this world. But the greatest achievement he did for mankind will remain as a remnant in our thoughts and lives. .
The first man to have ever stepped on another world...
He will never be forgotten..
---------- Post added at 02:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:02 PM ----------
Someone's missing here.......
The first man to have ever stepped on another world...
He will never be forgotten..
---------- Post added at 02:03 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:02 PM ----------
Someone's missing here.......
Kyle
Armchair Astronaut
You got to understand though that Neil Armstrong probably wouldn't have wanted that, he was a quite and humble man who would have wanted what he got, a private funeral with his friends and family in attendance.
I do understand that Neil was a very private man and didn't care for the "celebrity" aspect of being the first man on the moon.
But I still believe that a state funeral would've allowed the public to pay their respects in a manner befitting the honor he brought to this nation.
rodion_herrera
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That's the awful thing about being a celebrity--you become public property, and in some societies/ideologies, it is the obligation of a celebrity or state hero to prioritize the public's wishes instead of his or her own wishes.
RIP Neil Armstrong.
-RODION
Arthur Dent
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RIP Neil - You inspired so many people down here in every corner of the world!
PolliMatrix
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Well, I'm a little late here, so much of what I wanted to say has already been said...
I cannot say that Neil Armstrong personally inspired me, but that is mainly because the moon landings were years before I was born. I do however respect him for inspiring those who witnessed him setting foot on another celestial body.
What makes me sad is not that a hero died, but that with his death performing heroic feats in the name of humanity's curiosity and ambition to reach for the stars seems to become more and more a thing of the past.
I don't see another age of "space heroes" coming anytime soon, so maybe we should keep the spirit of exploration alive in a more humble way by learning to appreciate also the smaller steps we make in our understanding of the cosmos.
If not giving him a state funeral was his wish, I have to agree that a private funeral was probably the most respectful.
To me the best way to honor him would be by keeping the memory alive and reflecting on what his landing on moon means to every one of us.
I believe that the journey has come to an end for him, but also that the journey of humanity should go on in exploring the vastness of the universe.
Many of you have said Neil Armstrong did not want to be too much of a celebrity. So maybe it would be a good idea to not only remember him, but all the others who allowed him to make one of mankind's greatest dreams become true...
I cannot say that Neil Armstrong personally inspired me, but that is mainly because the moon landings were years before I was born. I do however respect him for inspiring those who witnessed him setting foot on another celestial body.
What makes me sad is not that a hero died, but that with his death performing heroic feats in the name of humanity's curiosity and ambition to reach for the stars seems to become more and more a thing of the past.
I don't see another age of "space heroes" coming anytime soon, so maybe we should keep the spirit of exploration alive in a more humble way by learning to appreciate also the smaller steps we make in our understanding of the cosmos.
If not giving him a state funeral was his wish, I have to agree that a private funeral was probably the most respectful.
To me the best way to honor him would be by keeping the memory alive and reflecting on what his landing on moon means to every one of us.
I believe that the journey has come to an end for him, but also that the journey of humanity should go on in exploring the vastness of the universe.
Many of you have said Neil Armstrong did not want to be too much of a celebrity. So maybe it would be a good idea to not only remember him, but all the others who allowed him to make one of mankind's greatest dreams become true...
rodion_herrera
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I was personally hoping he would live to see a return to the moon mission. This might sound a tad childish but it sort of hurts inside, that he didn't live to see it, like a scene perhaps, of a new generation of lunar astronauts pointing to his nameplate on his PLSS or another one picking up his Hasselblad at Tranquility Base. I bet that would have brought a huge smile to his face.
I wanted to say a lot of stuff on the day of his passing in these forums, but I was busy touring different schools in several cities, and there were places where I didn't have a reliable internet connection (there were even some military vs. rebel operations in the area!). Nonetheless, I kept telling the kids how inspiring Neil Armstrong was to me, and that he's more than just "the first man to walk on the moon"...much, much more...I have a copy of "First Man" his biography by James Hansen, and I often tell kids about some of Neil's character traits and keen observation and analysis skills, so that they know more than just him being "the first man on the moon". My job now, that of astronomy lecturer inside a mobile planetarium, is in a way a result of Neil and other astronauts and astronomers inspiring me to bring space and science education to a new level in my third world country, the Philippines.
Thank you Neil, for the inspiration. I carry the fire.
-RODION
I wanted to say a lot of stuff on the day of his passing in these forums, but I was busy touring different schools in several cities, and there were places where I didn't have a reliable internet connection (there were even some military vs. rebel operations in the area!). Nonetheless, I kept telling the kids how inspiring Neil Armstrong was to me, and that he's more than just "the first man to walk on the moon"...much, much more...I have a copy of "First Man" his biography by James Hansen, and I often tell kids about some of Neil's character traits and keen observation and analysis skills, so that they know more than just him being "the first man on the moon". My job now, that of astronomy lecturer inside a mobile planetarium, is in a way a result of Neil and other astronauts and astronomers inspiring me to bring space and science education to a new level in my third world country, the Philippines.
Thank you Neil, for the inspiration. I carry the fire.
-RODION
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Kyle
Armchair Astronaut
It's now been reported that Neil Armstrong will be buried at sea.
Hoping that a monument is built to honor his legacy, after all he's one of the most famous explorers of the last millennium. Nothing big or massive, as that is not what Neil would have wanted, but small and prospective that can last for a long time, so that people can still remember him.
Hoping that a monument is built to honor his legacy, after all he's one of the most famous explorers of the last millennium. Nothing big or massive, as that is not what Neil would have wanted, but small and prospective that can last for a long time, so that people can still remember him.
Kyle
Armchair Astronaut
Digging up an old thread I know, but I thought of Neil today when I looked into my telescope at the nearly half-full moon in the sky. I have a 10' Celestron reflector telescope, and I had it on the lens with the highest magnification. I gazed upon the moon and my telescope happened to focus on a crater just to the northwest of Tycho. In the crater was a sharp peak, a very defined and acute mountain compared to the rest. The sun was hitting the moon at a certain angle, and the mountain was half in shadow.
Upon the surface of the crater, which mind you was completely flat save for some small craters, one could see the shadow of the mountain stretch across the basin of the crater. It then struck me that how huge this mountain must be, if the shadow from it stretches hundreds of kilometers across the lunar surface. It has to be double the size of Mt. Everest. I got to thinking how ridiculous the idea that people use, even in metaphor, that mountains could be moved by muscle alone.
Then I got to thinking, someone has moved mountains before. Not physically, but in spirit. Neil Armstrong. Not just himself, mind you, but with the aid of thousands of people who worked behind the Apollo 11 mission: my Grandfather and Grandmother included. These people moved mountains, Neil Armstrong moved mountains. No other event in history, no singular event, has been as defined or as immortalized as what occurred on July 20th, 1969. No other event has changed us as a species. Because of this, it jump-started an era of innovation that still, regardless of what you see on the news, exists today. The human race has advanced more in the last 50 years than it has in the last 5,000 combined.
I adjusted my telescope slightly to aim to the east of the crater, near the equator, directly onto Tranquility base. I felt like I was looking into a time machine, of all the steps that were made to that point in 1969, and how that step will trigger larger steps. Mars, manned mission to other stars, who knows. But that "small step for man" was the greatest giant leap for mankind there ever has been.
Upon the surface of the crater, which mind you was completely flat save for some small craters, one could see the shadow of the mountain stretch across the basin of the crater. It then struck me that how huge this mountain must be, if the shadow from it stretches hundreds of kilometers across the lunar surface. It has to be double the size of Mt. Everest. I got to thinking how ridiculous the idea that people use, even in metaphor, that mountains could be moved by muscle alone.
Then I got to thinking, someone has moved mountains before. Not physically, but in spirit. Neil Armstrong. Not just himself, mind you, but with the aid of thousands of people who worked behind the Apollo 11 mission: my Grandfather and Grandmother included. These people moved mountains, Neil Armstrong moved mountains. No other event in history, no singular event, has been as defined or as immortalized as what occurred on July 20th, 1969. No other event has changed us as a species. Because of this, it jump-started an era of innovation that still, regardless of what you see on the news, exists today. The human race has advanced more in the last 50 years than it has in the last 5,000 combined.
I adjusted my telescope slightly to aim to the east of the crater, near the equator, directly onto Tranquility base. I felt like I was looking into a time machine, of all the steps that were made to that point in 1969, and how that step will trigger larger steps. Mars, manned mission to other stars, who knows. But that "small step for man" was the greatest giant leap for mankind there ever has been.
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RGClark
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Thanks for that, Kyle. You expressed in eloquent words what many of us felt.
Bob Clark
Bob Clark
SpaceEagle
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I may be late,but found this at Universe Today:
RIP Neil Armstrong!
RIP Neil Armstrong!
JonnyBGoode
Sky Marshal
R.I.P. Neil Armstrong
The first man on the moon, has stepped off the planet again.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/neil-armstrong-man-moon-dead/story?id=12325140
---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 AM ----------
Bah, delete this thread. I didn't know he had passed, and a friend pointed this out as if it were today.
The first man on the moon, has stepped off the planet again.
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/neil-armstrong-man-moon-dead/story?id=12325140
---------- Post added at 03:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 03:56 AM ----------
Bah, delete this thread. I didn't know he had passed, and a friend pointed this out as if it were today.
Linguofreak
Well-known member
I've actually seen three people today learn about it for the first time and think it was recent. Where did you get linked to it from?
