Moon Webcasts Celebrate Apollo 11 Lunar Landing: Watch Live Tonight

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This view from the Apollo 11 spacecraft in July 1969 shows the Earth rising above the moon's horizon. The lunar terrain pictured is in the area of Smyth's Sea on the nearside.
This view from the Apollo 11 spacecraft in July 1969 shows the Earth rising above the moon's horizon. The lunar terrain pictured is in the area of Smyth's Sea on the nearside. (Image credit: NASA)

NASA's Apollo 11 moon landing 45 years ago today (July 20) captivated the world and space fans have a chance to relive that lunar feat with two free webcasts tonight.

NASA astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong raise the American flag on the moon during their July 20-21, 1969 moonwalk during the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission. (Image credit: NASA)

The online Slooh community observatory will offer live telescope views and expert commentary on the first manned moon landing to begin the night. Later, NASA will broadcast restored video of the Apollo 11 moonwalk by astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin at the exact time the two astronauts ventured out onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, as crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module.

The lunar celebration starts at 8:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. PT/0030 GMT), when the online Slooh will stream telescope views of the moon on Slooh.com.

NASA's webcast of the Apollo 11 moonwalk will begin at 10:39 p.m. ET (0239 July 21 GMT). You can watch both Apollo 11 webcasts on Space.com, courtesy of Slooh and NASA TV.

The Moon, Live by Slooh

The Slooh webcast tonight will feature live views of the moon via a telescope in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Slooh host Geoff Fox will host the webcast and be joined by astronomer Bob Berman, as well as documentary filmmaker Duncan Copp and science journalist Andrew Chaikin, author of the book "A Man on the Moon" chronicling the Apollo program. Viewers can follow the webcast on Twitter and ask questions via the hashtag #SloohApollo11. [NASA's Apollo 11 Moon Landing in Pictures]

"A disconcerting minority of Americans think the moon landings were a hoax, even though this can be decisively rebutted in 30 seconds," Berman said in a statement. "And wild, still largely unknown secrets surround that first mission, including humorous mishaps that did not come to light until much later, that were personally revealed to me by Buzz Aldrin. Our panel and our viewers are going to have a lot of fun during this live program commemorating Apollo 11 while we watch the fat, waning crescent moon look amazing through telescopes located in Dubai."

NASA's Apollo 11 Moonwalk

NASA's moonwalk webcast tonight is timed to the exact moment, 45 years ago, when Armstrong opened the Eagle lunar lander's hatch to step out onto the lunar surface.

"The world watched 45 years as astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set their lunar module Eagle down in the Sea of Tranquility, while crewmate Michael Collins orbited above in the command module Columbia," NASA officials wrote in a statement. "On Sunday starting at 10:39 p.m., when Armstrong opened the spacecraft hatch to begin the first spacewalk on the moon, NASA TV will replay the restored footage of Armstrong and Aldrin's historic steps on the lunar surface."

For more NASA events celebrating the Apollo 11 anniversary, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/apollo45/.

Buzz Aldrin has also urged the public to share memories of the Apollo 11 moon landing via YouTube at:
https://www.youtube.com/apollo45.

Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik and Google+. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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Tariq Malik
Tariq Malik
Editor-in-Chief

Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.