Astronaut Scientific Debriefings, 1962-1963

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22
Schirra - Paul Backer could trace them down at least.
He was the film-handler.
He could chase them down.
O'Keefe - Minnaert has suggested that after moonset, that
there might be a lunar zodiacal light.
(Minnaert, Light
and Color in the Open Air, p. 295.)
Schirra - Oh.
O'Keefe - It's a dim hope.
Schirra - Getting back to this light magnitude in relation
to stars is about 12 to 15 magnitude.
I wouldn't even see
this .
I suspect Gordon won't unless he just happens to look
out at the right time and has enough lighting.
Now with
instrumentation we could detect it, but visibly with the
naked eye you can't detect because you can't see through the
window.
You can't detect this low illumination level.
I might
add that I saw something subsequent to the flight that· really
flipped me.
I was on route to the West Coast on a night flight
(commercial).
I was sitting way in the back in the tourist
section in middle of a three-seater, and thought I was
anonymous, when the stewardess came roaring back and said
~mdr. Schirra, would you come up front;'' and out of my
obscurity I was drawn to the cockpit and I said to myself that
we ' ve either lost a pilot or co-pilot.
(Laughter) So I went
roaring up front and the passengers were looking with a
degree of apprehension, at least.
I went up to the cockpit
and looked out and we were heading West just after sunset and a