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Bosscha celebrates 50th anniversary of first moon landing
Fifty years since the first historic moon landing, the Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java, hosted an event to celebrate humanity's first steps on the lunar surface.
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This July 20, 1969, photo obtained from NASA and taken by Neil Armstrong, shows astronaut Buzz Aldrin on the Moon's Sea of Tranquility. (NASA/AFP/Neil Armstrong)
The Bosscha Observatory in Lembang, West Java, held on Saturday an open house to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing.
Themed, On the Moon Again, the event was also held in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the International Astronomical Union, an organization that aims to promote and preserve astronomy.
With it, organizers aimed to introduce the history of space travel and moon expeditions, said Bosscha Observatory head Premana W. Premadi.
"We hope that through the educational values of this event, which was held in an open [and] pleasant space, we can foster children's curiosity [and inspire them] to keep on learning," Premana, who is also an astronomy lecturer at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB), said in a written statement.
The open house, which was free of charge, ran from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., during which visitors had the chance to observe the skies and the moon with the Zeiss equatorial double refractor, currently the largest telescope at the observatory, in the Zeiss Dome.
Astronomers Evan Irawan Akbar and Ferry M. Simatupang also held public lectures on explorations to the moon.
United States astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to ever land on the moon on July 20, 1969, in the historic Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong was the first person to walk on the lunar surface, which he famously described as “one giant leap for mankind”.
The Bosscha Observatory holds a free open house four times a month between April and October every year to introduce its activities and facilities to the public. It assigns students and staffers who have undergone training to guide visitors. (ars/afr)
