Computus week before the Gregorian Easter in 1724, 1744, 1778, 1798, etc. The Easter cycle groups days into lunar months, which are either 29 or 30 days long. There is an exception. The month ending in March normally has thirty days, but if 29 February of a leap year falls within it, it contains 31. As these groups are based on the lunar cycle, over the long term the average month in the lunar calendar is a very good approximation of the synodic month, which is days long. There are 12 synodic months in a lunar year, totaling either 354 or
Pioneer 3 direct ascent trajectory, the odds of hitting the Moon were slim. However, a lunar flyby rather than impact would still be considered a successful mission. The flight plan called for the "Pioneer 3" probe to pass close to the Moon after 33.75 hours and then go into solar orbit. The Juno II lifted from LC-5 at 12:44 AM on December 6. Launch went entirely according to plan until first stage cutoff, when the engine cut off 3.7 seconds early due to a failure of the propellant depletion sensors, leaving a velocity shortfall of several hundred feet per second. The injection