The lunar boulder catches the last rays of the sun during the "lunar" sunset. This amazing and impressive sight can be seen in the images taken by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter camera. The boulders are located at the bottom of an unnamed crater, which is about 3.5 km wide. This interesting crater is located in the larger and more famous Lobachevsky crater. The edge of the smaller crater casts its shadow, which can be seen on the left side of the image, and a logical question arises: why are the shadows on the moon so dark?
On Earth, air scatters light and allows objects to be illuminated that are not in direct light. These bodies still look well lit. This effect is called Rayleigh scattering. It received this name in honor of the British physicist Lord Rayleigh (John William Strutt), who received in 1904 Nobel Prize for the discovery of argon gas. It is thanks to Rayleigh scattering that the sky above our heads looks blue, and people, being under umbrellas on the beach, can calmly read magazines.
There is no air on the Moon, which means there is no Rayleigh scattering. That is why the shadows on the moon are very dark, and the objects on which the light falls are very bright. In shaded areas, sharply dark, almost black areas can be observed, along with some bright spots of light. These bright spots are the result of light reflecting off the surface of the moon.
Lunar regolith is composed of fine, angular dust particles that reflect light very well. This dust tends to reflect light back into the source, illuminating some objects in the shadow. This effect can be observed, for example, in photographs of the Apollo mission. Astronauts, being in the shadow of space modules, are clearly visible, as their suits are illuminated by light reflected from the surface of the moon. Some are trying to use this phenomenon as "evidence" that the moon landings were filmed on stage under artificial lighting but in reality all this extraordinary sight is the result of reflected light.
Credt: NASA / Apollo
Astronaut is clearly visible in reflected light
So, even despite the absence of Rayleigh scattering on the Moon, light can still penetrate the shadow ... though not for long. It gets dark quickly on the moon. And it gets cold very quickly.
Well, if you are one of those who are eager to find out what is hidden in the photo in the shadows - a shot of the same area at a different time, where the lighting allows you to notice much more small details.
1. Moonquakes
Despite the fact that, in fact, the Moon is just a dead piece of rock with extremely low geological activity, crustal movements occur there as well. They are called moonquakes (by analogy with earthquakes).
There are four types of moonquakes: the first three - deep moonquakes, vibrations from meteorite impacts, and thermal moonquakes caused by solar activity - are relatively safe. But moonquakes of the fourth type can be quite unpleasant. Typically they are up to 5.5 on the Richter scale, which is enough for small objects to start shaking. Such tremors last about ten minutes. According to NASA, such moonquakes make our moon "ring like a bell."
The most frightening thing about these moonquakes is that we have no idea what exactly is causing them. Earthquakes on Earth are usually caused by movement tectonic plates, but there are simply no tectonic plates on the Moon. Some researchers think that they may have some connection with the tidal activity of the Earth, which, as it were, "pulls" the moon over itself. However, the theory is not supported by anything - tidal forces are associated with full moons, and moonquakes are usually observed at other times.
2. Double planet
Most people are convinced that the moon is a satellite. However, many argue that the Moon should be classified as a planet. On the one hand, it is too large for a real satellite - its diameter is equal to a quarter of the Earth's diameter, so the Moon can be called the largest satellite in Solar system if this ratio is taken into account. Pluto, however, also has a moon called Charon, whose diameter is half the diameter of Pluto itself. Only here Pluto is no longer considered a real planet, so we will not take Charon into account.
Due to its large size, the Moon is not actually in low-Earth orbit. The Earth and the Moon revolve around each other and around some point in the center between them. This point is called the barycenter, and the illusion that the Moon is orbiting the Earth is due to the fact that the center of gravity is currently inside crust... It is this fact that does not allow us to classify the Earth with the Moon as double planet however, this may change in the future.
3. Lunar debris
Everyone knows that there was a man on the moon. But not everyone knows that Man (we will specially write this word with a capital letter) used the Moon as a standard picnic spot - astronauts who visited the Moon left a lot of garbage there. It is believed that about 181,437 kg of artificial materials rest on the lunar surface.
Of course, not only the astronauts are to blame - they deliberately did not throw sandwich wrappers and banana peels on the Moon. Most of this debris was left from various experiments, space probes and lunar rovers, some of which are still functioning.
4. Moonlight grave
Eugene "Jin" Shoemaker, a renowned astronomer and geologist, is something of a legend in his circles: he developed methods scientific research cosmic impact, and also invented the techniques that the Apollo astronauts used to study the moon.
Shoemaker wanted to become an astronaut himself, but was unable to get the job due to minor health problems. This remained the biggest disappointment throughout his life, but Shoemaker nevertheless continued to dream that someday he would still be able to visit the moon himself. When he died, NASA fulfilled his most cherished wish and sent his ashes to the moon with the Lunar Prospector station in 1998. His ashes remain there, scattered among the moon dust.
5. Lunar anomalies
Some images taken by various satellites show very strange things on the lunar surface. It seems that there are artificial structures on the moon, the size of which ranges from very tiny, usually in the shape of a parallelepiped, to "obelisks" at least 1.5 km high.
Lovers of the paranormal even "found" among these objects a large castle "hanging" high above the surface of the moon. All this seems to indicate a developed civilization that previously lived on the moon and supposedly built complex structures.
NASA has never refuted these strange theories, despite the fact that all the images are most likely faked by adherents of the "conspiracy theory".
6. Moon dust
One of the most amazing and at the same time most dangerous things on the moon is moon dust. As everyone knows, sand penetrates everywhere and on Earth, but dust on the moon is an extremely dangerous substance: it is fine, like flour, but very coarse. Thanks to its texture and low gravity, it penetrates absolutely anywhere.
NASA had numerous problems associated with moon dust: it tore apart astronauts' boots almost completely, penetrated into ships and spacesuits, and caused "moon hay fever" in hapless astronauts if they inhaled it. It is believed that with prolonged contact with moon dust, any, even the most durable object, can break.
By the way, this devilish substance smells like burnt gunpowder.
7. Difficulty with low gravity
Although the moon's gravity is only one-sixth that of Earth's gravity, moving across its surface is a feat. Buzz Aldrin said that it would be extremely difficult to establish settlements on the Moon: the legs of astronauts in bulky spacesuits were buried in the moon dust by almost 15 cm.
Despite the low gravity, the inertia of a person on the moon is high, so it is difficult to move quickly or change direction there. If astronauts wanted to move faster, they had to pretend to be clumsy kangaroos, which was also a problem, since the moon is full of craters and other dangerous objects.
8. The origin of the moon
Where did the moon come from? There is no simple and accurate answer, but, nevertheless, science allows you to make several assumptions.
There are five main theories about the origin of the moon. The fission theory claims that the Moon was once part of our planet and separated from it by a very early stage history of the Earth - in fact, the Moon could just be located in the place of modern The Pacific... The capture theory says that the Moon simply "wandered" through the Universe until it was captured by Earth's gravity. Other theories say that our satellite was either formed from asteroid debris or was left from the collision of the Earth with an unknown planet the size of Mars.
The most reliable on this moment The theory of the origin of the Moon is called The Theory of the Rings: a protoplanet (a planet that is just forming) called Theia collided with the Earth, and the resulting cloud of debris eventually gathered together and turned into the Moon.
9. Moon and sleep
The influence of the Moon and the Earth on each other cannot be denied. However, the influence of the moon on humans is a source of ongoing debate. Many believe that full moon is the reason strange behavior people, but science cannot provide conclusive evidence for or against this theory. But science agrees that the moon can disrupt the human sleep cycle.
According to an experiment conducted at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the phases of the moon affect a person's sleep cycles in a very specific way. People sleep worst of all, as a rule, on the full moon. These results can fully explain the so-called "lunar madness": according to the experiment and the assurances of many people, it is on the full moon that they most often have nightmares.
10. Moon Shadows
When Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first set foot on the moon, they made an amazing discovery: the shadows on the moon are much darker than the earth's shadows due to the lack of atmosphere. All moon shadows are absolutely black. As soon as the astronauts stepped into the shadows, they could no longer see their own legs, despite the brightly glowing solar disk in the sky.
Of course, the astronauts were able to adapt to this, but such a contrast between the dark and light areas of the surface still remained a problem. The astronauts noticed that some shadows - namely, their own - have halos. Later, they learned that the eerie phenomenon is due to the opposition effect, in which some dark shadow areas develop a bright halo, provided that the observer looks at the shadows from a certain angle.
The shadows of the moon have become the scourge of many Apollo missions. Some astronauts found it impossible to complete maintenance tasks on the spacecraft because they could not see what their hands were doing. Others thought they had accidentally landed in a cave - this effect was created by the shadows cast by the slopes.
11. Lunar magnetism
One of the most interesting mysteries of the moon is that the moon lacks a magnetic field. Surprisingly, while the stones that astronauts first brought from the moon to Earth in the 1960s, magnetic properties possessed. Maybe the stones are of alien origin? How can they be magnetic if there is no magnetic field on the moon?
Over the years, science has established that the moon once had a magnetic field, but so far no one can say why it disappeared. There are two main theories: one states that the magnetic field disappeared due to the natural motions of the iron core of the moon, and the second states that this may be due to a series of collisions of the moon with meteorites.
In the book "Footprints on the Moon" there is a photo of NASA "Ceremony of Honoring the Flag" (Fig. 14). This rite took place during the Apollo 11 mission. Armstrong and Aldrin stand near the flag, and the light from the Sun, which hangs low over the horizon, gives two long shadows.
Rice. fourteen.Honoring the flag. Apollo 11 (S69 40308) (NASA archive)
Let us especially clarify that it was kind of like the first landing on the moon, and, accordingly, the erection of the stars and stripes over it had, in the words of the classics, "world-historical significance." Accordingly, the emergency of the moment and the astronauts had to approach it with the utmost responsibility. Indeed, Michael Collins, the third crew member, who was in the main block of the ship, describes with inspiration how the angle of the Sun's elevation above the lunar surface was carefully chosen so that the landing of the Eagle (as the American lunar module was proudly called) was optimal conditions illumination.
“If the Sun is too high overhead, the craters and boulders will not cast shadows, the sense of depth will disappear, and the vision of obstacles will become problematic. If the sun is too high, the surface will be too hot. If too low, the shadows will be so long that they darken necessary details surface, which again will create problems with the vision of obstacles. Ideal option an angle of 10 degrees was recognized, ”Collins said.
And now the "Eagle", reporting on contact with the lunar surface, landed at 4:18 am Western time (12, p. 205). A little later, he, who called himself the "Base of Tranquility", conveyed the following: "I would say that the color of the local surface is quite consistent with that observed from orbit at this angle of incidence of the sun's rays - about 10 degrees ..." (37, p. 295).
And so the two conquerors of the stellar worlds begin to honor the flag of their beloved fatherland. The explanation to the photo specifically states: "Armstrong holds the pole, and Aldrin holds the flag."
But what's the deal ?! The first discrepancy is immediately apparent: two people of almost the same height cast shadows of completely different lengths. Moreover, the shadows, which should be parallel, converge.
That is, Aldrin's shadow is 45 percent longer than Armstrong's. How did it happen ?! At first glance, it seems that two light sources are used. Once again, let's ask ourselves the question: why did NASA conceal from humanity the fact that the moon is illuminated by two suns? Although, in fact, the reason for such a "miracle" is much more mundane: either this photograph is a montage, and the shadows were applied later, or the photograph is a sample of early computer graphics.
Indeed, even if there were two Suns, none of them could be located at 10 degrees at the time of shooting. over the horizon! The simplest knowledge of trigonometry is enough to make the calculations: Aldrin's personal light source is at a height equal to:
a tan (5.588 / 11.277) = a tan (0.496) = 26.4 degrees,
and Armstrong - at a height equal to:
a tan (5.436 / 7.785) = a tan (0.698) = 34.9 degrees.
The ship left the ship 7 hours after landing. Since the lunar day lasts 30 earth days, The sun moves across the lunar sky at a speed of 12 degrees. at 24 hours. Seven hours correspond to 3.5 degrees, which means that during the famous space walk the Sun would be at an altitude of 13.5 degrees. over the horizon. With this height of the Sun, the length of the shadows in the image should be more than 23 cm, that is, more than two times longer than what can be seen in the photo! A single light source cannot cast such different shadows from people of almost the same height. And, as Willis Carto rightly pointed out in the weekly "Spotlight", I would like to understand where the shadow from the flag, which should "cut" Armstrong in half?
NASA explained the presence of an elongated shadow by the fact that the flag's shadow is supposedly added to the astronaut's shadow. But a careful analysis of the photo breaks this argument as well: it is clearly visible that the shadow of the pole rests against Armstrong's leg, and the very top of the flag's shadow comes out of the "crown" of the astronaut's shadow, so the flag's shadow cannot be added to Aldrin's shadow. Whatever one may say, the picture is clearly fabricated!
Another "photographic evidence" of the alleged Apollo 16 landing in April 1972 contains even more savory pearls. It is about a photo of John Young hovering at a distance from the lunar module and waving in the wind the Stars and Stripes flag (Fig. 11)
The American flag cult is a well-known phenomenon, as well as the fact that you don't feed them hamburgers, let it be deployed wherever possible. But now we are not talking about the fact that he is ready to flutter anywhere, even despite the absence of an atmosphere on the same Moon (this will still be a separate conversation).
Let's not find fault with such trifles that the surface of the mountain in the background is not very brightly lit and there is a shadow on it, despite the fact that there are no clouds on the moon!
Rice. 11. John Young and the lunar module.
Apollo 16 (AS16 113 18340) (NASA archive)
Better take a closer look at the shadows of the other figurants in the above picture. Here the shadow from the thin flag staff is clearly visible at its base and ends with a slightly noticeable thickening: this is the shadow of the flag itself. The lunar module is visible in the background. He, too, casts a shadow parallel to the flag, but still suspiciously thin - hardly thicker than the flag. On Earth, shadows from the Sun are always proportional to the size of the objects casting them. Are other optical laws at work on the moon?
A long black line is visible closer to the foreground. This is - electrical wire, which should lead to LEM, however, he mysteriously disappears at the stone near the base of the flag. Who, how and why laid this wire, where does it come from and what connects to what, we will not ask: for sure a military secret. As well as the fact that it partially lies on the ground, and partially buried for some reason (or just goes into the floor of the pavilion?). But isn't there too much attention to inanimate objects, when in the center of the picture is our hero-astronaut, who, not only does not touch the surface (he jumped, probably), but also does not cast a shadow?
This question, by the way, was asked by NASA, and there, hesitatingly, they issued a version that claims that the shadow of the flag is in fact the shadow of an astronaut. But, forgive me, what was it that flattened a man in a spacesuit on the moon - to the thickness of a flag? There will still be talk about the quality of the astronauts' spacesuits. But, in any case, he does not remove the question of how Young, flattened to a rag state, survived and returned to Earth in its original form. The only coherent explanation for this anomaly is that Young (like the Lunomobile antenna in the previous photo) was "superimposed" on the image later.
Examples of further lapses with photo and video materials allegedly filmed by the Americans on the Moon can be multiplied further - there will be enough materials for a puffy volume. To top it all off, we just add that progress really does not stand still. Some skeptical nerds took and scanned NASA photographs and found that many of them had background spots in certain places that take on a different shade, which characterizes a "composite" photo taken from images from different types films.