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First man on the moon passed away. Rest in peace.

Another hero of my youth died :-( Requiescat in pace.

Edited: 25 Aug 2012, 5:01 p.m.

I had my picture taken with him just one month ago!! (at the dedication dinner for the new Lowell Observatory 4-meter telescope) That may have been his last public lecture appearance. His presentation was better than I thought it was going to be.

"I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer -- born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in the steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace, and propelled by compressible flow." - Neil Armstrong

Best,

--- Les

A true pioneer.

RIP

That is very special Dave!!

When Joey and I first visited Lowell in 2003 we saw one document signed by the Apollo 11 astronauts, including Neil Armstrong. The guide told us that the Lowell telescope was used to map lunar surface.

Namir

Edited: 26 Aug 2012, 6:49 a.m.

For the french readers : In the newspaper "Le Monde" an extract of 150 testimonies about the 21 of july 1969. I like this one :

"I was only a kid but I remember that night : Hidden behind the sofa of my parents, the black and white TV and my father who screamed : They did it ! They did it! It was the first time I saw him kissing my mother...!"
( Bruno Jean )

Le Monde - 21 juillet 1969

"(...) Armstrong marche sur la lune, les commentaires fusent, le moment est historique, le monde entier est focalisé sur l'instant et un dernier morceau de pain essuie le bol et disparaît. Puis nous avons traversé le village. L'odeur de foin, du four à chaux et des bouses, se mêlaient. Trois hommes étaient la haut. Tout à l'heure le coq chanterait, les vaches quitteraient l'étable. Ici rien ne changerait. Mais trois hommes étaient sur la lune."
( Thomas Gelée )

Bad translation :
"(...) Armstrong walks on the moon, comments fuse, it is an historic moment, the whole world is focused on this and the last piece of bread cleans my bowl and disappears. Then we walked through the village. Smell of hay, lime kiln and dung mingled. Three men are on the moon. Later the cock will sing, the cows will leave the barn. Here nothing would change. But three men were on the moon ".

Edited: 26 Aug 2012, 8:34 a.m.

One of the great humans; a life well-lived, well loved, well liked, and will be well remembered. An exemplar to any child who wants someone to emulate. You are missed, Commander Armstrong. Rest in much honored peace.

My little tribute photographic tribute to Neil Armstrong:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24844563@N04/7861379806/in/photostream/

--Peter