Search

The Montréal Centre was one of the most active amateur astronomy organizations in North America during the 1950s and 60s, thanks to a core of dedicated and enthusiastic lovers of the hobby. I was fortunate to join them in my teens, after the launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957 at the very onset of the Space Age. The ensuing years were truly a golden era of amateur astronomy. They were also formative years in my life and that of many of my contemporaries and led directly to my becoming a professional scientist and an avid amateur astronomer to this day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a brief history of the lunar exploration, focusing on the efforts of amateur astronomers to fill the gap in research to natural satellite and planets as astronomers focused on astrophysics and cosmology. It discusses the importance of complete understanding of the geology, surface topography and composition of the Moon, its measurement using geometric methods, and the discovery of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 by geologist Eugene Merle Shoemaker, known as Gene Shoemaker.