In 1963, baseball pitcher Gaylord Perry remarked, “They’ll put a man on the moon before I hit a home run.” On July 20, 1969, a few hours after Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Perry hit his first home run of his career (while playing for the San Francisco Giants).

Perry actually achieved his first home run within minutes after Apollo 11 touched down on the moon but Neil Armstrong would step onto – with his left foot first – the lunar surface only 6 hours and 16 minutes later.

But while the timing of Perry’s first home run is well proven the fact that Perry himself uttered those famous words are not. It is also suggested that his manager Alvin Dark suggested, “They’ll put a man on the moon before he hits a home run.” Whoever said it, it has become one of the most famous moments in baseball history.

Gaylord Jackson Perry (born 1938), a right-handed pitcher, was known for allegedly throwing spitball. He pitched 5352 innings with 3534 strikeouts and ERA of 3.10. He scored 6 home runs in his career. He was inducted into the National Baseball hall of Fame in 1991.

Moon Facts

What distance does the Moon travel around the Earth?

The Moon travels a distance of 1,423,000 miles (2,290,000 kilometres) around the Earth

How wide is the Moon?

The Moon has a diameter of 2,000 miles ( 3,476 kilometres).

The surface of the Moon has about the same area as the continent of Africa.

What is the surface of the Moon like?

The surface of the moon has many things on it such as craters, lava plains, mountains, and valleys. Scientists believe the craters were formed around 3.5 to 4.5 billion years ago by meteors hitting the moon's surface.

The Moon has no atmosphere

Water was discovered on the moon in November 2009

There is no wind or weather on the moon.

Footprints left on the Moon by Apollo astronauts will remain visible for at least 10 million years because there is no erosion on the Moon.

Why can we see the Moon?
The Moon is not a light source, it does not make its own light.

The moon reflects light from the sun.

We can see the Moon because light from the Sun bounces off it back to the Earth.

If the Sun wasn't there, we wouldn't be able to see the Moon.

The Sun always lights up (illuminates) one side of the Moon.

The Moon appears to change shape but what we are actually seeing is the Moon lit up by the light from the Sun in different ways on different days.

The Moon and the tides
The moon causes many of the tides in the Earth's oceans. This is because of the gravity force between the Earth and Moon.

During full and new moons the gravitational forces of the Sun and Moon combine to produce the highest tides called Spring Tides.

During quarter moons the gravitational forces of the Sun and the Moon oppose each other to produce the lowest tides called Neap Tides.

Did you know?

We always see the same side of the moon. The Moon always keeps the same side pointing towards us so we can never see the 'back' of the Moon from the Earth.

As the moon rotates around the earth, it also rotates around its own axis at the same rate. This is why we always see the same side of the moon.

A few days after new moon, when there is just a very slim crescent, you can sometimes see earthshine on the unilluminated portion of the Moon. Earthshine is caused by sunlight being reflected off the Earth and falling onto the Moon.

FULL MOON FACTS

The full moon is a lunar phase occurring when the moon is on the opposite side of the earth from the sun and all three bodies are aligned in a straight line. It appears as an entire circle in the sky.

The only month that can occur without a full moon is February.

The world's tidal ranges are at their maximum during the full moon when the sun, earth and moon are in line.

The full moon is given different names, depending on when it appears:

• January - Moon After Yule, Wolf Moon, or Old Moon
• February - Snow Moon or Hunger Moon
• March - Sap Moon, Crow Moon, Worm Moon or Lenten Moon
• April - Grass Moon, Frog Moon or Egg Moon
• May - Milk Moon or Planting Moon
• June - Rose Moon, Flower Moon, or Strawberry Moon
• July - Thunder Moon or Hay Moon
• August - Grain Moon or Green Corn Moon
• September - Fruit Moon or Harvest Moon
• October - Harvest Moon or Hunter's Moon
• November - Hunter's Moon, Frosty Moon, or Beaver Moon
• December - Moon Before Yule or Long Night Moon.

Blue Moon
The second full moon occurring within a calendar month is called a Blue Moon. The last was seen on 31 December 2009. Far from being a rare event this phenomenon occurs once every three years on average.From this fact comes the fixed English expression "once in a blue moon".

Lunar Halo - ring around the Moon
A lunar halo is caused by light refracted through ice crystals in cirrus clouds. These six sided ice crystals refract the light at a 22 degree angle, almost always producing a halo that is 22 degrees in diameter.

The final Curious © phrase:

“Shoot for the moon and if you miss you will still be among the stars”

(Les Brown)