Top Ten Lunar Landing Hoax Questions and Answers

for anything else that doesn't fit.
Post Reply
User avatar
Robb
Posts: 2062
Joined: 01 Jun 2006, 10:00
State/Location: NSW

Top Ten Lunar Landing Hoax Questions and Answers

Post by Robb »

Hi All,

We know that man landed on the moon but here are some of the Hoax's that were quickly established after the moon landing.

1) The Claim: Space is littered with little points of lights (stars). Why then are they missing from the photographs?

The Science: If you've ever taken a photograph outside at night, you'll notice that faint distant objects don't show up. That's not because the air blocks them -- it's because the brightness of the nearby objects washes out the film. In fact if you were standing on the day side of the Moon, you'd have to somehow block the landscape out in order for your eyes to adapt enough to pick out the stars.


2) The Claim: There's no way that big moon buggy they were driving could have fit into that little landing module!

The Science: The rover was very cleverly constructed to be made out of very light materials, and designed to fold up to about the size of a large suitcase.

3) The Claim: How come in that one video of the LEM leaving the surface, the camera follows it up into the sky? Who was running that camera?

The Science: The camera was controlled remotely from Earth.


4) The Claim: When the Lunar Excursion Module (LEM) landed, its powerful engine didn't burrow a deep crater in the "dusty surface."

The Science: Beneath the layer of dust, the Moon is made of fairly densely-packed rock. What dust and loose dirt there was though, was "kicked up" as referenced by the astronauts and captured in their landing films.

5) The Claim: Space is filled with super-fast micro meteors that would punch through the ship and kill the astronauts.

The Science: Space is really amazingly big. While there are indeed an uncountable number of tiny pieces of debris travelling through the Solar System at speeds in the neighborhood of 120,000MPH, the volume of space keeps the density low. The chance of any given cubic yard of space having a micro-meteor passing through it is incredibly close to zero. Additionally, the astronauts suits included a layer of kevlar to protect them from any tiny fragment they might encounter.


6) The Claim: To leave a footprint requires moisture in the soil, doesn't it?

The Science: Not always. If you take some dry fine-grained dust such as talcum powder and dump it out, it's easy to make tracks in it that hold their shape. The particles hold their positions due to the friction between them.

7) The Claim: In the Sun, the Moon's temperature is toasty 280 degrees F. The film (among other things) would have melted.

The Science: No one was leaving bare film out on the hot lunar surface. All material was contained in protective canisters. In addition, at the time the Apollo missions landed, they were either at lunar dawn or dusk. As a result, the temperature was more easily manageable.


8) The Claim: Multiple-angle shadows in the Moon photos prove there was more than one source of light, like a large studio lamp.

The Science: The astronauts were taking their photos on a hilly, brightly-lit landscape while the Sun was close to the horizon. Imagine taking a photograph of someone on a rolling, uneven field of snow during a full, low-hanging Moon. The contours of the ground would produce shadows of many different lengths.

9) The Claim: If the astronauts had left the safety of the Van Allen Belt the radiation would have killed them.

The Science: The Van Allen Belts are created by Earth's magnetic field, and protect the planet from dangerous solar radiation. The belts collects this radiation, and traps it in a layer surrounding the Earth. But unless you deliberately caused your spaceship to hover within this layer, for many hours or days, the radiation exposure is well below dangerous levels. The Apollo astronauts passed through the Belts in less than four hours total for the trip. "It's not much more serious than getting a chest x-ray," said Plait. Outside the belt, the radiation drops to low levels that are only dangerous over extremely long periods of time.


10) The Claim: The American flag appears to wave in the lunar wind.

The Science: If you look closely, you will notice the flag's edges are pulled taut. This effect, which was done purposely as to not allow the flag to just hang flat, it was created by inserting a stiff wire into the fabric. The "flutter" was created as the astronauts worked to erect the flag. As the wire was adjusted, "Old Glory" appeared to wave.

Interesting,

Robb.....
Dr Robert Crosdale. MRACI. NSS. NSSA. NASA.
Ph.D (Chem), Post Grad Ph.D (Physics), M.Ed, B.Sc (Hons), Dip. Appl. Sc. (Chem)
Lake Munmorah High School.
University of New England.
University of New South Wales.
University of Newcastle.

To understand the Universe from our perspective, we need to look towards our own backyard first for answers.

** AD ASTRA PER ASPERA - SEMPER EXPLORO **
User avatar
Robb
Posts: 2062
Joined: 01 Jun 2006, 10:00
State/Location: NSW

Top Ten Lunar Landing Hoax Question and Answers

Post by Robb »

Hi All,

If I hear of any more Hoax answers regarding debunking the Lunar Landing I will pass these immediately on.

Cheers,

Robb.....
Dr Robert Crosdale. MRACI. NSS. NSSA. NASA.
Ph.D (Chem), Post Grad Ph.D (Physics), M.Ed, B.Sc (Hons), Dip. Appl. Sc. (Chem)
Lake Munmorah High School.
University of New England.
University of New South Wales.
University of Newcastle.

To understand the Universe from our perspective, we need to look towards our own backyard first for answers.

** AD ASTRA PER ASPERA - SEMPER EXPLORO **
User avatar
dolphinscales
Posts: 370
Joined: 30 Oct 2006, 10:00
Job Title: Laboratory Technican
School: Mandurah Senior College
State/Location: WA

Post by dolphinscales »

Thanks Robb i really enjoyed reading this thanks - have made a little poster out of it to put in the classroom
User avatar
Julia
Posts: 38
Joined: 06 Jul 2006, 10:00
State/Location: WA

Post by Julia »

Hi Robb,

I too find it very informative. It coincides with one of the subjects our students are studying at the moment.

Thanks
Julz
Post Reply