The first, and so far only, lunar astronomical observatory [ http://snoopy.gsfc.…] was deployed by the Apollo 16 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] crew in 1972. The Far Ultraviolet Camera / Spectrograph [ http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] used a 3-inch diameter Schmidt telescope to photograph the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], nebulae [ http://nineplanets.…], star clusters [ http://www.allthesk…], and the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The tripod mounted astronomical equipment is seen above [ http://images.jsc.n…], placed in the shadow of the Lunar Module [ http://www.nasm.edu…a11.am.lm.1.html ] (right) so it would not overheat. Also in the shadow is astronaut Charles Duke with the lunar rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the background. The Far Ultraviolet Camera [ http://cass.jsc.nas…A16_Experiments_UVC. html ] took pictures in ultraviolet light which would normally be blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. It was created by George Carruthers (NRL [ http://nrl.navy.mil/]), had a field of view of twenty degrees, and could detect stars having visual magnitude [ http://liftoff.msfc…] brighter than eleven. One hundred seventy-eight images were recorded in a film cartridge which the astronauts returned to Earth. The observatory still stands on the Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nas…] today.
Explanation
The first, and so far only, lunar astronomical observatory [ http://snoopy.gsfc.…] was deployed by the Apollo 16 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] crew in 1972. The Far Ultraviolet Camera / Spectrograph [ http://nssdc.gsfc.n…] used a 3-inch diameter Schmidt telescope to photograph the Earth [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], nebulae [ http://nineplanets.…], star clusters [ http://www.allthesk…], and the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. The tripod mounted astronomical equipment is seen above [ http://images.jsc.n…], placed in the shadow of the Lunar Module [ http://www.nasm.edu…a11.am.lm.1.html ] (right) so it would not overheat. Also in the shadow is astronaut Charles Duke with the lunar rover [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] in the background. The Far Ultraviolet Camera [ http://cass.jsc.nas…A16_Experiments_UVC. html ] took pictures in ultraviolet light which would normally be blocked by the Earth's atmosphere. It was created by George Carruthers (NRL [ http://nrl.navy.mil/]), had a field of view of twenty degrees, and could detect stars having visual magnitude [ http://liftoff.msfc…] brighter than eleven. One hundred seventy-eight images were recorded in a film cartridge which the astronauts returned to Earth. The observatory still stands on the Moon [ http://cass.jsc.nas…] today.
