Cool Moon Facts by Whip

Real astronomy and dated history, with sources. Documented traditions and folklore. Modern lunar astrology · symbolic, not predictive.

19 November 1969 Waxing Gibbous, 77% lit

Apollo 12 is struck by lightning. Twice.

The rocket triggered its own lightning strike 36 seconds after launch, and again at 52 seconds, knocking out the spacecraft's instruments.

A 24-year-old flight controller remembered an obscure switch from a test a year earlier and called "try SCE to AUX". Nobody on the flight deck knew what it meant, but it worked, and the mission continued to the Moon.

Date
19 November 1969
Moon computed for
06:00 local time, UTC
Phase
Waxing Gibbous
Illuminated
77%

Source: NASA Apollo 12 mission report (opens in a new tab)

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