This one follows on from the theme of 11th December, only today (14th December) marks the date that Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt left the moon. On this day, in 1972 (36 years ago), was the last time anyone walked on the surface of the moon.

This quote here is from Harrison Schmitt, who was actually the only scientist to walk on the moon (he was a geologist by profession).

The photograph was taken on the night of 12th December as the full moon was rising behind the trees at the back of our house. This was the largest full moon of 2008, since the moon was at its closest orbital point at that time. It was a beautiful sight, and I wonder what the view back to Earth was like on that day 36 years ago…

I found it quite sad to read the other day that NASA’s plans to return men to the moon and on to Mars are in danger of being reduced or scrapped by the new administration. I hope that it is not so – too many amazing inventions and technologies have come out of our explorations into space.

Today in 1953, Chuck Yeager set a new speed record of Mach 2.43 (about 1,864 mph) in the Bell X-1A rocket plane – at the time, an amazing and difficult feat.

Nowadays, we have fast planes such as the F/A 18 Hornet (pictured here at the Mid-South Air Show), but even the Hornet’s top speed is only 1,190 mph. It can, however, climb 50,000ft in 1 minute!

I like this quote from Chuck Yeager, in that it says an awful lot about resilience, determination and persistence at times when such things are needed to achieve one’s goal.

Ths photograph was taken just after sunset on 23rd Feb. 2004 in the UK, and shows the setting new moon with the planet Venus also shining through the sunset clouds.

On this day in 1972, astronauts Gene Cernan and Harrison H. Schmitt became the last men to walk on the moon when Apollo 17 landed. So, today’s quote is from Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon – 36 years ago.

I find it amazing to think that the crew of Apollo 17 were the last people to really see the Earth as we see the moon – as a complete sphere suspended in space. Not even the astronauts aboard the space station get a view like that!

Hopefully, it won’t be too long a wait for the next one – tentatively scheduled for 2019.

This photograph is of a mountain range at dawn in New Zealand, near Queenstown, called “The Remarkables”. I love the name, and you might recognize them from the Lord of The Rings movies, as they were used extensively in the making of those amazing films.

The quote from Zig Ziglar is equally remarkable in its truth and simplicity. Our state of mind is our number 1 asset because it determines everything else that we think or do. We can achieve just about anything we set our minds to.

Jacques Cousteau helped to open the treasure chest of the underwater world for all to see and be enthralled by. When he helped to invent the underwater breathing system we know as SCUBA, he brought the magic and beauty of the oceans within reach of everyone.

I was lucky enough to spend over 4 years as an underwater photographer and videographer, and I saw many amazing and wonderful things – but there is never any real escape from the net of wonder of the ocean.

This is a great quote from the leader of the first team to reach the summit of Mount Everest, along with Tenzing Norgay, during the ninth British expedition to the mountain in 1953.

It is quite true that the main obstacle to conquering most of our challenges is not the challenge, but ourselves.

This photograph is of Mount Aspiring in New Zealand, the home country of Edmund Hillary.

Oh boy, how true is this one! It seems like we’re faced with a million choices every day, from the small ones to the big ones. It only gets harder when there are more options to decide from, more consequences to consider.

I love Scott Adams’ creation Dilbert, and when I saw this quote from him I thought how different it was to some of his more usual humor – but, it is oh so true. We might never quite know the full extent and reach of the smallest of our gestures (good or bad).

[Edited by Nigel to change quote - see comment by Scott Adams]

In the quest to push ourselves forward, to achieve the potential of our lives, I think this quote from Albert Einstein sums it all up. When there are no more questions left, the only way is down.

These three donkeys – what I like to call “The Three Amigos” – were photographed near Whiteville one morning. They were pretty determined not to let me in their field and made a lot of noise to go with this show of force.