It’s been kept watch over the Earth for the past 4.5-billion years, circling 238,855 miles above.

Yes, it’s July 20 and time for our fourth annual celebration of National Moon Day.

Captain America (1969) 402

In the past we’ve showcased John Jameson, Jack Russel and Marc Spector, all of whom have a special relationship with the waxing and waning orb. This year its Steve Rogers’ turn.

Better known as Captain America, the Sentinel of Liberty found himself transformed into a werewolf by a wolf serum. Though sporting a coat of fur and mouthful of fangs, Cap was able to retain his ability to reason thanks to the Super-Soldier Serum.

During his time as a werewolf, Cap led a rebellion with other werewolves before the story arc culminated in issue 408 as part of the Infinity War company crossover.

In addition to reading the above storyline, National Moon Day may be observed by learning more on the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. After all, today is a celebration of America putting a man on a neighboring celestial body.

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon July 20, 1969. The were the first of 12 in total.

To recognize the accomplishment, President Richard Nixon dedicated July 20 to remember the men and the accomplishment.

We honor those by citing the following facts:

Only one side of the moon is ever facing the Earth

The Moon is 400 times smaller than the sun, but is also 400 times closer to the Earth than the sun

The moon’s gravity not only affects tides on Earth, but is also moves rock in much the same way

The moon was created when a Mars-size rock slammed in the Earth 4.5-billion years ago

Four-hundred trees are growing on Earth that spent their time orbiting the moon when they were just seeds.

Happy National Moon Day – again

America and the world entered the Atomic Age 77 years ago today.

The Trinity technicians may have wondered what they had wrought later, but the resulting self-sustaining chain reaction signaled a division in eras punctuated with a now familiar mushroom cloud.

Since that time, man has poked and prodded what he harnessed in hopes of better understanding and wrangling that power. To honor those who were drug along during the battery of tests, President Ronald Reagan designated July 16 as National Atomic Veterans Day:

Action Comics (1938) 101

“The day was dedicated to those patriotic Americans who through their participation in these tests helped lead the United States to the forefront of technology in defense of our great nation and the freedoms we as Americans hold so dear.”

In 1996, the United States Congress repealed the Nuclear Radiation and Secrecy Agreements Act, allowing Atomic Veterans to tell their stories and file for benefits. By then, thousands of Atomic Veterans had died without their families knowing the true extent of their service.

Pulling from the Golden Age of comic books and nuclear testing, Action Comics issue 101 presents America’s new toy to the comic book reading world. Inside, Crime Paradise, a 12-page propaganda story, introduces the new age in a parable of good and evil.

To save Lois Lane, Superman allows himself to be dosed with a drug that causes him to commit irrational acts. Following the third such event, the Man of Steel flies to the south Pacific where a nuclear test is under way.

The resulting explosion clears Superman’s mind of any confusion. As a result, he offers to film the second explosion showcasing a new atomic bomb. After which, he proclaims the safety and proficiency of the newly harnessed power before returning to Metropolis and jailing the crooks.

Operation Crossroads, held mid-1946, was the first nuclear test since The Gadget was detonated at Trinity the previous year. Coincidently, the islands and setting during the test was similar to that portrayed in Action Comics 101.

This wasn’t the first time Superman would be tested by the rending of the atom.

In Superman 38 readers were greeted by the following exhortation on page one, “Due to wartime censorship restrictions on subjects dealing with atomic experiments (see Time, Aug. 20, 1945, P. 72 and Newsweek Aug. 20, 1945, P. 68), this story was not previously released to the public. You’ll understand why as you read about the astounding weapon that Superman’s ancient foe, Luthor, turns loose against the city in…The Battle of the Atoms!”

Luther would threaten the Man of Tomorrow with an atomic device only to have it explode harmlessly against Superman’s chest disarming the arch villain.

The legacy of Oppenheimer’s is maybe best summed up in his quote from the Bhagavad Gita, “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.”