Astronomy Picture of the Day

Explanation:

這個星期日是儒勒·凡爾納的170週歲生日（1828年2月8日生於法國南特）。 因終身對機器的著迷和受到啟發，凡爾納寫了關於“非凡之旅”的前瞻性作品，其中包括陸地旅行，如《環遊地球八十天》、《地心遊記》和《海底兩萬里》。 1865年，他發表了三位冒險家從地球到月球的旅程故事。 凡爾納所寫的角色，乘坐建造於佛羅里達州、由巨型火炮所發射的“砲彈飛車”。 這聽起來很熟悉嗎？一個世紀後，土星五號火箭和美國航太總署的阿波羅計劃，最終將這部虛構的作品變成了事實，推動三位太空人進行了也許是凡爾納最非凡的旅程。 這個激勵人心的底照景觀，呈現了位於土星五號火箭頂部的阿波羅9號太空船。 1969年從佛羅里達州的太空港發射，阿波羅9號的組員是在太空中實測所有月球著陸硬體的第一批人。

Sunday marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Jules Verne (born in Nantes, France on the 8th of February, 1828). Inspired by a lifelong fascination with machines, Verne wrote visionary works about "Extraordinary Voyages" including such terrestrial travels as Around the World in 80 Days, Journey to the Centre of the Earth, and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. In 1865 he published the story of three adventurers who undertook a journey From the Earth to the Moon. Verne's characters rode a "projectile-vehicle" fired from a huge cannon constructed in Florida. Does that sound familiar? A century later, the Saturn V rocket and NASA's Apollo program finally turned this work of fiction into fact, propelling adventuresome trios on what was perhaps Verne's most extraordinary voyage. This stirring floodlit view shows the Apollo 9 space-vehicle atop its Saturn V. Launched from a spaceport in Florida in 1969, the Apollo 9 crew were the first to test all lunar landing hardware in space .