This project was supported in whole or in part by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian Made accessible through a grant from the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and Photo Friends
Operation Moonwatch, also known as Project Moonwatch or simply Moonwatch, was an amateur science program initiated by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) in 1956. The goal was to enlist the aid of amateur astronomers who would help professional scientists spot the first artificial satellites in space. Average citizens served on Moonwatch teams around the globe. Until professionally manned optical tracking stations came on-line in 1958, this network of amateur scientists played a critical role in providing crucial information regarding the world’s first satellites. Photograph caption dated February 1, 1958 reads "Members of Pacific Rocket Society's Moonwatch Station in Woodland Hills scan through 15 telescopes which have been staggered on concrete platform to provide an 'optical fence' by which 120 degrees of sky can be watched in effort to catch pass of U.S. satellite. Clouds prevented sighting of satellite early today, but they expect success tonight."
Pacific Rocket Society Men Women Artificial satellites--Tracking Astronautics--United States Observation (Educational method) Telescopes Woodland Hills (Los Angeles, Calif.) Night photographs
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