New moon vistas revealed

Eric, Salinas, CA — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:12:13 GMT

Thanks for showing us the first pictures from our new LRO orbiter around the moon Alan! So nice to see new pics so soon after launch. It will be interesting to see the pics from the LCROSS impact in a few months. I sure hope that the scientists find usable water on the moon so we can put crews up there for really long duration visits.

I hope that President Obama will change our Ares program to allow for foreign cooperation, we don't need to do a space race again just to show off our technical prowess in space when it costs too much to do that kind of childish grandstanding.

New moon vistas revealed

Richard Busic, Fox River Grove Il, — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:18:02 GMT

I love the pictures we get from all the spacecraft. Just great stuff.

New moon vistas revealed

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:46:08 GMT

why do all the impact holes look like 90 degrees impacts, no angular impacts can be seen?

New moon vistas revealed

pat huntington ny — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:49:36 GMT

It would be really interesting if we can get pics from the dark side of the moon...

New moon vistas revealed

Marvin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:55:19 GMT

If the moon has gravity, why can't it hold 1 inch of atmosphere?

New moon vistas revealed

Thomas Ashby — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:14:59 GMT

Are they going to take shots of Apollo to shut up the moon landing hoax idiots?

New moon vistas revealed

CKT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:31:41 GMT

Ehy,
I was having the exact same thought (all the impacts look dead-on, which is impossible). I think the answer is that, even for steeply angled hits, the impact looks pretty circular, like a bullet hitting ballistic gelatin. If you look real close, you can see some asymetry in some of the crater edges which suggests to me an angled impact.

New moon vistas revealed

Sean Burns, Kansas City, MO — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:41:44 GMT

If our flag is still on the moon, are there any pictures of it?

New moon vistas revealed

Eric Hedman, Pewaukee, WI — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:42:15 GMT

Marvin:

There are a couple of reasons the Moon has no significant atmosphere. If a gas is heated by the Sun during the day on the Moon, the velocity of the molecules in the gas would mostly exceed the escape velocity required to leave the Moon's weak gravity field. In addition since the Moon has no significant magnetic field to divert the solar wind around it, the solar wind would steadily blow any remaining atmosphere away into deep space.

New moon vistas revealed

CKT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:49:00 GMT

Marvin,
Atoms of oxygen, nitrogen, water vapor, etc. randomly bounce off each other in their gaseous state (which they would be in if the moon had a true insulating atmosphere and were not so cold). The velocities at which some of these atoms fly around are fast enough to reach "escape velocity" and fly out of the moon's gravitational feild altogether, if they don't hit another atom on the way. The process is gradual, but eventually all of them escape out into open space. On earth, the gravity is 6 times stronger than the moon and the escape velocity is too high for the atoms to attain at atmospheric pressures and temperatures. They try to leave the earth's gravity, but fall back before they can escape. If the moon suddenly had an atmosphere, it would last for a while because the weak gravity would keep it from simply blasting outward immediately (not sure how long it would last). But it would gardually thin out until it was gone.

New moon vistas revealed

Alberto, Miami, FL — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:54:04 GMT

We are all explorers at heart and we are just figuring out how to get off this rock. Let us see what else is out there....Great pictures! And if we all can not go...Thank you for the images, so we can all share in the excitement and know we had some part in it.

New moon vistas revealed

environmentalist — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:00:57 GMT

great photos
beautiful moon.....
"take only pictures, leave only footprints"

New moon vistas revealed

Val, Herriman, UT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:24:41 GMT

The reason all the holes are circular (which you are taking to mean that they are from 90 degree impacts) is because that's the way impact craters form. The asteroids break up on impact and so can't create an oblong crater. Try it in sand with something that breaks up (for example, compacted wet sand). You'll always get circular impact craters even at the small scale.

Check out the following bing search: http://www.bing.com/search?q=why+are+impact+craters+round

New moon vistas revealed

Ed, Burlington, VT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:27:31 GMT

Re: Marvin:

I'd guess the moon has no atmosphere due to solar winds.

New moon vistas revealed

Greg Hullender, Seattle, WA — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:29:04 GMT

The moon does have an atmosphere of sorts, but it's extremely thin because the sun keeps stripping it away.

http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/tadp/1995/spects/environment.html

If the moon were at the distance of Saturn, it probably would have a reasonable atmosphere.

New moon vistas revealed

Val, Herriman, UT — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:32:18 GMT

Marvin, the moon cannot accumulate atmosphere because it does not have magnetic poles. The Earth keeps its atmosphere because its poles create a magnetic sphere that diverts most solar particles. Without the magnetic protection, the solar particles will soon strip away any atmospheric particles that may exist.

Check out these bing search results: http://www.bing.com/search?q=Why+doesn%27t+the+moon+have+an+atmosphere

New moon vistas revealed

Doug Fingles, Warner Robins, GA — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:49:54 GMT

Pat H: It would be really interesting if we can get pics from the dark side of the moon...

You're gonna need a REALLY big flash... :-)

P.S. There is no "dark" side, but there are dark areas at the poles.

New moon vistas revealed

Darthfrodo — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:05:39 GMT

I would assume Marvin that either the solar winds would blow any atmosphere away, or the sun would heat any atmosphere causing it to rise and dissipate.

New moon vistas revealed

Laurence Putchinski, Cape Canaveral FL — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:18:51 GMT

Gravity is a relatively weak force. A simple bar magnet just a few inches long will pull a metal pin or other small metal object off the ground against the force of gravity. Remember that the earth's entire mass is pulling that pin to the ground, so the electromagnetic force is much stronger than gravity. The operant conditions on the moon easily overcome the force of gravity, and thus the moon has no atmosphere.

New moon vistas revealed

gene — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:49:16 GMT

Besides me, I think a lot of other people want to see the Apollo landing sites photographed ... if for no other reason than to shut up the poor sad little man with the bad teeth and all the cats living in his ramshackle trailer in the Nevada desert ... and the Science Channel, Discovery Channel, and The History Channel who all keep shining the light of publicity on him. And, for the other people who want "international cooperation" with Ares, Orion, and whatever else ... I'm for that as soon as Russia lets us put our flag on their Soyuz spacecraft. I wish someone would publish a pie chart showing the financial contributions in percentages for the expense of the Space Station ... "International" Space Station? Yeah! Right!

New moon vistas revealed

Bruce — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:16:16 GMT

For those who don't already know, there is no "dark side" of the moon. There IS a "far side" or "back side." The moon keeps the same side facing earth as it orbits around the earth, so there is a side we never see from earth, but it isn't always dark. It takes one month for the moon to make one orbit of earth and simultaneously one turn on its axis. Therefore, a lunar "day" is one month long - two weeks of daylight and two weeks of darkness - if you stay in the same spot on the moon unless you are in a deep crater at a lunar pole where it would always be dark, except for a possible glint of sunlight along the upper rim. When we see a full moon, it is lunar noon on the middle of the near side. When we "see" (or don't see) a new moon, it is lunar noon on the middle of the far side.

New moon vistas revealed

Bruce — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:24:10 GMT

I wish we could have a color photo of earth from the moon during a total lunar eclipse. The earth would appear as a huge dark spot in the lunar sky and, with enough resolution, city lights on earth might possibly be visible. The really big bonus would be that the dark earth would be completely surrounded by a glowing red-orange ring of sunset.

New moon vistas revealed

steve smyth — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:35:51 GMT

Has anyone ever seriously considered the possibility that the type of pock marks shown come from inside the Moon...bubbling up of some internal flow?
They sure look that way...and it answers the 'why are they all so direct looking, with no angular strikes' question.
There's a beach across from Aberdeen Proving grounds with sand geode type objects that bubble up from the constant vibration of the surrounding Earth.
The holes left behind when one breaks off would look exactly like the Moon if not for tidal effects preventing wind blown erosion from softening the mounds around their perimeter ala the pics above.
They don't last long enough between big tides to get smoothed over.
Never though of it before...has anyone else?

New moon vistas revealed

Pedro, San Francisco, California — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:40:48 GMT

I hope people from some other planet got a less boring natural satellite; what we have here is a pathetic joke - boring and lifeless piece of rock.

New moon vistas revealed

Len Dutton, Denver, CO — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:54:20 GMT

You'' never make me believe that they landed a man on the moon because I know of the radiation belt that is out there and it would have fried any human that goes through it. I have seen the capsule that supposedly make the trip and it did not have lead shielding. Too many unanswered questions for me to believe it. If it was so easy, why haven't we been back? Now a trip is planned for 2020. Maybe we will have the technology then.

New moon vistas revealed

Jon, Seattle, Wash. — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:05:09 GMT

Perhaps its me because when i look at the picture I see plenty of non 90 degree impacts.

New moon vistas revealed

John Mack, Fairway, KS — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:22:22 GMT

The only dark side of the moon is the 1973 Pink Floyd album.

New moon vistas revealed

Loren, SF Bay Area, CA — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:29:16 GMT

"There is no dark side of the moon, really. It's all dark." - P. Floyd

New moon vistas revealed

cocoa — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:43:30 GMT

Look into the Eletric Universe, For you just might be amazed at the theory of it all.

New moon vistas revealed

Chad, Las Vegas NV — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:21:56 GMT

Why is it that every other moon that we have found in our solar system has been given a name but not our own? It's simply "the moon".

New moon vistas revealed

Dan Ferrin Greybull, Wy. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:01:21 GMT

I think its funny how the political houses can tell us we are in terrible finacial straits, but put more people out on the streets or out of jobs. Yet The rich still support the Auto Bail outs and keep sending people into Space and have vacations and benefits the average people can not afford. Where is the money tree!

New moon vistas revealed

Issac Smithosonian — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 03:31:11 GMT

What an absolute complete waste of money to take black and white picture of a sandy rock

New moon vistas revealed

Ken Murphy, Dallas, TX — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:08:11 GMT

The reason that the craters most all look circular is because of the nature of the physics of impact. The impactors are traveling (usually) at speeds on the order of kilometers per second. When the object impacts and comes to a very sudden (i.e. instantaneous) stop, even at an angle, the resultant release of energy and forces treats the point of impact as a point-source and radiates outward in all directions.

The forces directed downward shock and compress the underlying material, which eventually rebounds back upwards. The forces directed upward and outward blow material out and away, leaving a crater.

Because of the way things 'weather' on the Moon, constant bombardment by even microscopic dust and stuff tends to wear down the rough edges, softening the appearance of the surface. Irregularities in crater rims or ray patterns tends to be the result of the characteristics of the material underlying the point of impact.

It's only at really shallow angles (<12 degrees or something like that) that you'll tend to see oblong craters.

If you want to learn more about the 'geo'logical processes of our Moon, including cratering, then 'The Modern Moon' by Charles Woods is probably a good place to start. That's where I learned what a glacis is.

New moon vistas revealed

Ron Peters — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:08:11 GMT

These look like the same old colorless photos of the moon taken a generation ago: hills and craters and more hills and craters. Isn't there anything colorful or interesting there? Can't NASA drop a couple of gallons of paint on the moon? The Japanese at least crashed their orbiter into the moon to change the scenery a bit.

New moon vistas revealed

jim webb, south ogden, utah — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:19:08 GMT

to Eric, Salinas, CA (Sent Thursday, July 02, 2009 2:12 PM), the earth's history is littered with murder for resources. the president needs be prudent?

New moon vistas revealed

Ron Vazzano, Los Angeles, CA — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:43:29 GMT

"Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed."

These would be the first words heard as man touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969 at 4:17 PM Eastern Daylight Time, forty years ago this month. “That’s one small step for (a) man…” would not be heard until some six and a half hours later, when 528,000,000 people around the globe would watch a ghostly apparition of Neil Armstrong, place the first footprint on the lunar surface. (No one would remember that the second man on the moon Buzz Aldrin, described it as “Beautiful, just beautiful; a magnificent desolation.”)

This clearly was one of those “Where-were-you” moments. So exactly where in the world were you?

First off, there is a better than even chance you weren’t even born yet, as 60% of the U.S. population today is under 40. But if you were us, you were not only born, but married and holed up in a studio apartment in Queens, having gotten an eleventh hour draft deferment the previous July. The war in Nam would have to continue raging on without us.

If you were a group-minded type and living in New York City, there is a chance you might have wandered over to Central Park to view the event on one of the giant TV screens that were set up in the Sheep Meadow. A venue mostly known at the time for its war protests, “be-ins” and concerts, it would now ironically enough, serve as a setting for this “establishment” moment of triumph.

If you were Ted Kennedy, you were in Edgartown Massachusetts trying to explain to the authorities how you could have driven a car into a tidal channel on Chappaquiddick Island two days ago. And how in so doing, caused the death of a young girl named Mary Jo Kopechne. She would be 68 today.

Here was the last of the Kennedy brothers, copping a plea on a day he might have been in Washington as a surrogate for the JFK legacy. That being, the reestablishment of American pride and prestige through a stunning come-from-behind victory in the space race.

And while Chappaquiddick would still be page-two news in the New York tabloids on the day of the landing, it had now been relegated to page 19 in the New York Times, where two stories were headlined: Kennedy To Face Charge In Crash For Leaving The Site and Kennedy’s Career Feared Imperiled.

If you were a black leader or activist, a Jesse Jackson, a Charles Evers or Eldridge Cleaver, you were predictably deriding this phenomenal scientific and political achievement, as a project whose funds could have better been spent on the disenfranchised and the rebuilding of inner cities.

If you were Sammy Davis Jr. however, you were in the Old City of Jerusalem at The Wailing Wall, head bowed in prayer. No joke.

“It means nothing to me. I have no opinion about it and I don’t care,” is what you would say if you were Pablo Picasso and in possession of so massive an ego—all genius aside.

If you were a scientist or say a science writer for the Times, you might now be forgiven, if in a moment of ecstasy you began gushing things like “…I believe that we will use nuclear rocket engines to build a shuttle system…(to travel) between earth and the moon and eventually the planets. I foresee this taking place by the end of the 1970’s (underline, ours). Oops!

Ah, but it was a great day to be a poet. There right on the front page of the New York Times, was a poem by Archibald McLeish. (Not to be confused with Cary Grant who was born Archibald Alec Leach). And then even more verse on the inside, by more “names” such as Anthony Burgess and Anne Sexton (who would commit suicide ala Sylvia Plath, just five years later).

And finally, while perusing the yellowed newspapers taken from our closet with this upcoming 40th anniversary in mind— we could not help but notice one particularly incongruous attempt by an advertiser, to cash in on all the hoopla.

Purex Industries, the makers of Brillo soap pads at the time, offered a free map of the moon with two Brillo proof-of-purchase box tops (and 15¢ to cover postage and handling). Might we suppose that with all the lunar dust being kicked up in the landing, the metallic surface of the LEM (Lunar Excursion Module) might be in need of a good scrubbing? Though by extension, the laugh might be on us as well. We were literally working on Madison Avenue at the time, for an ad agency—speaking of the pot calling the kettle black.

We tend to take note of these seemingly disparate bits of history and culture, for we have always believed in the need for context. Events, both historical and personal, do not happen in a vacuum.

In reflecting on that first lunar landing— with the aid of these ancient newspaper accounts— we are reminded of a line we had written in a poem that had to do with the value of keeping a journal in lieu of keepsakes:

I do this to remind me not so much of where I’ve been
but what was on my mind while I was there.

We went to the moon. But what was on our minds while we were there? The answers to which might explain, why forty years later, we have yet to return.

* * *

New moon vistas revealed

k king, squaw valley, ca — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:50:49 GMT

Photos of the lunar landing sites won't shut the hoax crowd up. They'll simply insist that they were faked, just as they say the original photos were faked. Nothing will ever convince that crowd; they would rather NOT believe.

New moon vistas revealed

joe sims — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:00:34 GMT

crappy pics. NASA always photoshops out or avoids the good stuff on the moon. why do we continue to support an agency that doesn't accomplish much yet costs hundreds of millions to operate, when the common folk are struggling to survive.

New moon vistas revealed

Jordan, Poughkeepsie, NY — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:18:26 GMT

Maybe we can now see that disputed alien base with the parked mother ship, and mining operation on the dark side of the moon... lol???

New moon vistas revealed

Tim Rommes, Washington, UT — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:46:58 GMT

I’m sure that any photos NASA provides of lunar landing sites will be “proven” falsified to the satisfaction of the hoaxters. Never let evidence get in the way.

Bruce,
I’d love to see pictures from the dark side of the moon. And there IS a dark side, we call it “night.” During a new moon phase the earth may provide enough light for pics that don’t suffer the washout of daytime pics. I think they’d be interesting.

Bruce,
You do already know that the small moon does not cast a shadow over the entire earth, don’t you? The earth would be a huge bright spot in the lunar sky with a graduated dark spot on it. You probably wouldn’t be able to see city lights for the same reason you don’t see stars in pictures from the moon. (Oh, because pictures of a lunar eclipse from the moon would be faked on a soundstage in Texas?!)

Steve,
Maybe some kind of interior ice deposits that get heated in the long lunar day.

New moon vistas revealed

v,Toledo, Ohio — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:48:02 GMT

It's funny, some people are seeing 90 degree impacts, I see orientation of the hills and other features to the upper-upper right in the picture. Of course shadows do weird things but it also does not seem to orient toward the sun which appears to me to be toward the right-upper right, say at the 2:00 to 2:30 position, much lower. Vince

New moon vistas revealed

Allison, OC, CA — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:53:46 GMT

For someone who is a novice to astronomy, it is all fascinating to me. I enjoy reading and learning from the comments here. In particular, I like the fact that people take the time to answer other people's questions, rather than criticize them.

New moon vistas revealed

Man InDaMooon — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:08:40 GMT

I hope people from some other planet got a less boring natural satellite; what we have here is a pathetic joke - boring and lifeless piece of rock. >>

The moon is not pathetic!

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Lepeiss — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:45:32 GMT

It's been nearly a half century since Richard Nixon allegedly landed men on the moon. These men used golf carts to drive around on the surface they placed a flag which should still be there. Why not take some pictures of the landing sites and prove once and for all that Mr. Nixon was really an honest guy who woud never concoct a hoax on the people of America for political gain?

New moon vistas revealed

h. c. petley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:49:49 GMT

slowly, slowly, all things are accomplished. The Moon, Luna, Selene goddess of the night, our stepping stone into the high frontier, a vast treasure trove of minerals, the proving ground for the colonization of the rest of our solar system. What we learn, what we accomplish, what we fabricate to survive on The Moon prepares the way to Mars the outer planetary systems. Go For It!

New moon vistas revealed

h. c. petley — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:58:23 GMT

Oh, no Pedro! The Moon is not boring but incredibly dramatic with soaring crater walls thousands of meters high,deep rilles, vast sunbaked flats, jumbled hi-lands,indelible black sky with unobstructed views of uncountable stars. You descendant, 500 yrs from now will marvel at The Moon's challenging landscapes on 10 day tourist junkets! Not boring at all!

New moon vistas revealed

Robert Kochis, Toms River, NJ — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:06:44 GMT

Looking at the first photo I am wondering about the rock formation on the left side, center. It looks like a human footprint in extremely muddy soil. It must have taken an 'extremely interesting' impact to form that object!!

I am glad we are back for several reasons, we have wasted too much time away when we could have learned AND ENGINEERED so much more. What would modern life be like without velcro? Sorry there are many more items to mention but the average person would probably not understand them all.

(Downside of velcro is my grand-child still cannot tie his shoes correctly but that is a small price).

I can remember the fuzzy black and white pictures and scratchy audio sitting on the living room floor when Apollo 11 landed.

Unfortunately, the news media treats the Space Shuttle with little or no coverage. I applaud Ocean County College, here in New Jersey, for dedicating as much as 6 hours of their television time for the ISS missions and some of the Hubble work.

New moon vistas revealed

Edgar Jerez — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:34:56 GMT

If we went to the moon why not go out to the garage turn the key on and land on it again, this should only take a few months; definitely not over 10 years. So know the world is exited that we can take close pictures of the moon, hmhmhm one should wonder what all the excitement is about.

New moon vistas revealed

Randy — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:48:10 GMT

Since it has been 40 years since the first moon landing, I would think there would be value in sending some type of ditch digger and collecting samples from, say, 5-10 feet below the surface. Wiht new technology in last 40 years I would think we could do this. Is there not value in it? Since the moon is so much closer than other planets turnaround time would be faster.

New moon vistas revealed

Tlaloc, Brooklyn — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:59:06 GMT

To Len Dutton,
We did go back. Five more times, between '69 and '72!

New moon vistas revealed

Ed Cude Pinson Tn. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:44:56 GMT

wow great photo now let see some photo on what was left on the moon by Apollo moon land

New moon vistas revealed

Scott Runyan Kingman AZ. — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:21:47 GMT

Clearly some people will always hide their head in the sand rather than admit we as a nation ever went to the moon.Anyone who says we are wasting money by exploring space needs to take a look at all the technology derived from space exploration.

New moon vistas revealed

Rick Kookamunga FL — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 21:49:13 GMT

Brain Damage.

The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path.

The lunatic is in the hall
The lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more.

And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forbodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade, you make the change
You re-arrange me 'till I'm sane.

You lock the door
And throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me

And if the cloud bursts, thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon.

New moon vistas revealed

Gregg C Levine, Astoria NY — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:09:33 GMT

That photo was amazing.
I remember being somewhat involved in the entire business regarding the trip to the moon. Including visiting the Cape several times, including when they were just getting started for manned trips into space. I believe I know the entire Cape area around the 39 Complex rather well... But that moon photo was amazing...
Of course we went to the moon, we've got the photos and the rocks to confirm it. The need for shielding of the spacecraft was covered during the Pegasus missions. And during the Explorer series who found the Van Allen belts. Our only problems were keeping cool and of course breathing....

New moon vistas revealed

Des Emery, St. Thomas, ON, Canada — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:44:26 GMT

One of the many things I've always liked in your Cosmic Log, Alan, is that someone can pose a pertinent question and expect to receive a dozen answers from the other readers.

BTW, Luna turns the same face toward Terra, her "day" co-inciding with her "month" rotation because her internal structure is lop-sided, the more massive portion being located on the side closer to Terra. Other satellites of other planets do not appear to share that anomaly of construction with her.

New moon vistas revealed

Twelvestar, Ft. Lauderdale, FL — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 04:03:18 GMT

Remember, you will only see the pictures they want you to see. Get yourself a good telescope. At least a 4 in. refractor or 8 in. SCT like me.

New moon vistas revealed

DPotter, Greecastle, IN — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:29:00 GMT

Len, time to quit carrying around the club and come out of the cave . . . the technology you are using was decendent of that which was specifically designed for the Space Programs that you don't beleive in. Really?

I was a wide eyed child when the Space Race was in full swing and during those times what I seen first hand and since could not have been made up. They had us hiding in hallways with our hands over our heads in fear (like that was going to help) of what major nations in the world rapidly became capable of doing from technological advances the Space Race produced.

Still yet I support space exploration. We as humans should always strive for bettering ourselves with true knowledge of the universe around us. In this way then we may finally learn that it is wonderful to prove how we exist but without a doubt only God himself knows WHY we exist!

I'm just glad to have had the chance to exist and see it all come to be . . .Thanks for the pics can't wait for more.

New moon vistas revealed

john doe, seattle, wash. — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 16:38:27 GMT

why can't the hubble take images of the moon? it would be so cool to see the supposedly flag and other bits of equipment left behind. it would also quell the people who claim we never went to the moon.

New moon vistas revealed

Kyle Shurge, Los Angeles, California — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 18:41:19 GMT

The United States needs another space race to encourage colonizing the moon and other celestial bodies. Without the space race, NASA has not been able to achieve very much in manned space flight. NASA's last greatest human flight was Apollo 17's lunar mission which ended in 1972.

New moon vistas revealed

Tom, Albuquerque, New Mexico — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 23:05:34 GMT

Oh wow, awesome B&W photos from the MOON!!!
Speaking as someone born in 1960:
ZZZZZZZZZ

New moon vistas revealed

AJ, Seattle, WA — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:33:37 GMT

Well, interesting conversation.......the original question was, "where were You", and out of respect for the USA, I think we should set aside our usual pontifications, and answer the question.

I was 11 years old, standing in our living room with my parents, I am an IBM brat, and my 5 sisters, watching this historical event, oblivious of all the other political events in the world except for the adult whispers about the war, and what my older sisters were wearing that might be unappropriate. I remember thinking, I want to go there, so I asked my Mom, "how do I get to the moon?" She said, "be an astronaut". And so, my scientist path was set at 11 years of age, in spite of the fact that I was a girl.

God Bless America! AJ

New moon vistas revealed

Adela, Rathdrum, Idaho — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 05:13:51 GMT

h.c. petley, I really enjoy your comments...they have the fervent desire of a space traveler, and remind me of Ray Bradbury's lifelong yearning to be on his way, in space, off to another planet! Usually Mars...my first statement when we got the general information regarding the prelimary "proof" that there appeared to be no signs of life on Mars was: "I hope Ray Bradbury doesn't hear of this..." God it is still so fun to stare at the night sky and enjoy all the "what ifs". I love your eloquent way of expressing it. Thank you!

New moon vistas revealed

William Brooks, Gresham, Oregon — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 10:00:48 GMT

There is for sure one man than can certify that indeed the USA placed men on the moon. That man would be President Obama, our Commander in Chief. He remains under oath and carries the promise of truth and transparenticy.....So ask?

New moon vistas revealed

Nic Cols, Columbus, GA — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 13:17:45 GMT

If the same side of the moon is always facing the earth, it would seem that this close side should have far fewer craters than the far side, which does not enjoy this continual "protection" from asteroids, comets, and other things that would crash into it. Has anyone compared "relative crateredness" of the two sides of the moon?

New moon vistas revealed

David Lewis Bradley, Atlanta, GA — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:51:13 GMT

One says NASA "Photoshops... out" the "good stuff"? Like the aforementioned mothership on the "dark side"? Another believes Richard Nixon, the most friendless Republican president ever and a man who couldn't keep a lid on a burglary, concocted a fraud of sufficient magnitude to fool the entire scientific world. No, all the photos of human footprints on the moon will not satisfy such minds, who are obviously possessed of the REAL truth.

Now, Fox and Friends, are they part of the Intergalactic Overlord conspiracy or merely its unwitting dupes? I've noticed the folks at that network are also in possession of a Secret Truth, of which the rest of us are sadly ignorant. The Truth is Out There, that's for sure, but the conspirators won't admit it without a little "enhanced interrogation". Just remember that They reproduce through skin contact and They don't fear death because God didn't give them souls. Their hatred of God is the reason all so-called "science" is little more than thinly-veiled attacks on religion, and the Socialists are part of their plan. When the Worldwide Atheistic Socialist State is established, Niburu will sweep into view, our Alien Overlords will reveal themselves, and Richard Nixon (no more "dead" than Elvis or Michael Jackson, thank you very much) will personally command the subjugation of Earth. Why do you think Palin is pinning her hopes on 2012 and the end of the Mayan Long Count? Do you people think all of this is a coincidence?

Alan, thanks for the pictures. And may our Alien Overlords continue to bless and keep Dr. Dave Wingert!

New moon vistas revealed

DPotter, Greecastle, IN — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 15:26:56 GMT

Hubble can not see an un-enhanced view of the other side (incorrectly refered to as the "Dark" side). That is to say when the the shaded parts of the Moon are facing the earth Hubble has to use special special types of imagry to view it like infra-red and ultra-violet, ect.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong but isn't one of the poles hidden from plain sight too ? ? ?

New moon vistas revealed

KM, Indianapolis, IN — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 17:24:49 GMT

I will only be satisfied when they finally release the high res pics of artificial structures that exist on the moon. Stop hiding the truth from us.

New moon vistas revealed

Chris Kleckner — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:59:24 GMT

The video on You Tube has been removed for some unknown reason.

[ALAN ADDS: Looks like the Web address has changed ... I've changed the link as well. Thanks for the heads up.]

New moon vistas revealed

Petr Whitby ,Ontario Canada — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 21:53:21 GMT

Thank you to those knowledgeable people who have offered so much plausable information to those of us who are not as lunar compliant. To those who offer nothing,I say pffffft,you are a waste of space.

New moon vistas revealed

John Doe, Seattle, Wash — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 22:29:41 GMT

Nothing short of taking them on a visit to the moon would shut up the moon-landing hoax people. Even that might not do it. When you are dealing with someone who doesn't use logic to come to conclusions, you aren't going to change their mind using logic.

New moon vistas revealed

derondo, Atlanta GA — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:51:08 GMT

What a colossal waste of taxpayer money... to what end?

New moon vistas revealed

Isamu Dyson — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:18:01 GMT

derondo do you also protest the use of tax payer gold to send Columbus on his exploration? if so, when are you moving to Europe?

New moon vistas revealed

Larry S — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:41:24 GMT

I was a 17 years old white kid when we landed on the moon. During that time, I was a war protester, supported the Black Panthers, read Elridge Cleaver, debated war, poverty and race issues, and never trusted the government and worked to defeat tricky Dicky Nixon. But I never doubted that we actually landed on the moon. Until I was 42 years old, I had never heard that people believed it was a hoax. The argument goes something like this: since our cell phones now have more computing power than those on board computers back in the 1960's, how could we possibly have made it to the moon and back with that limited technology? After thinking about it for a while, the decision became simple: If we had NOT been to the moon, don't you think the Soviets, our main reason to go to the moon in the first place, would have found a way to expose the fraud? Were they in on the conspiracy too???

For me, case closed.

As a side note, I find that many of the same crowd who doubt that we went to the moon, also believe that the Bible is a literal history of man i.e, the earth is only about 6,500 years old, dinosaurs either existed side by side with man or that God made fossils to put in the ground to confuse us. My mother always told me that people judge you by the company you keep. Enough said.

New moon vistas revealed

Netsrik, SLC, UT — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:07:10 GMT

Derondo, knowledge is NOT a waste of money!

New moon vistas revealed

Cliff woodman — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:47:30 GMT

Why can't it see the lunar module ??
Google earth can zoom in on me picking my nose in the back garden, yet they still have no images of previous lunar landings ????

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:38:05 GMT

"You'' never make me believe..."

There's half the problem. You've already made up your mind, facts and evidence be damned.

"...that they landed a man on the moon because I know of the radiation belt that is out there and it would have fried any human that goes through it. I have seen the capsule that supposedly make the trip and it did not have lead shielding."

which shows how little you understand about the intensity of the VanAllen belts (I assume that's what you're referring to), their size, or how fast an Apollo spacecraft (or *anything* sent to Earth escape velocity) passes through them.

"Too many unanswered questions for me to believe it. If it was so easy..."

Who said it was? It was neither easy nor cheap, which brings us to the following:

"...why haven't we been back?"

A simple five-letter word. Something invented by the Phonecians very long ago: Money. Not enough of it. A public and Congress becoming rapidly disinterested at the time and also dealing with an unpopular war in Southeast Asia and assorted social changes. Congress will generally vote as the public mood goes (after all, priority one is pleasing enough constituents to stay in office) and there wasn't (and still isn't) a powerful 'space' lobby.

Even in *this* thread, someone has already said:

"I hope people from some other planet got a less boring natural satellite; what we have here is a pathetic joke - boring and lifeless piece of rock."

Now, imagine enough people having that attitude after the first few landings and the near-disaster of Apollo 13. Even today, you can get a 'been there, done that, so what?' Attitude about the Moon, as if there isn't still more to learn.

(And strangely enough, it can come from either those who still don't want to fund going back to the Moon or any other manned space project *and* from those who want to skip that and go straight to their beloved Mars...and the latter *will* take long enough for galactic cosmic ray exposure and possibly solar flares to be a concern)

This isn't about the 'radiation' boogeyman and don't kid yourself into thinking it is. Like most anything else, it's about money.

"Now a trip is planned for 2020. Maybe we will have the technology then. "

Only if we have the R&D money now. And the issue *still* won't be radiation.

(And perhaps only if we switch to a more affordable and efficient architecture than the one being debated today, but that's a slightly different story...)

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:39:58 GMT

"Why is it that every other moon that we have found in our solar system has been given a name but not our own? It's simply "the moon"."

Some use 'Luna' as a proper name. It's not official, but it works for me.

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:42:49 GMT

"If we went to the moon why not go out to the garage turn the key on and land on it again, this should only take a few months; definitely not over 10 years. So know the world is exited that we can take close pictures of the moon, hmhmhm one should wonder what all the excitement is about."

Sorry, no Moon-capable ships under a tarp in MY garage.

If you've got one, please feel free to demonstrate...

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 08:01:49 GMT

"If the same side of the moon is always facing the earth, it would seem that this close side should have far fewer craters than the far side..."

It does, but that's not why.

Earth doesn't cover enough of an angular part of the sky to 'protect' that side. Indeed, one could have a situation wherein an approaching object was deflected *to* the Moon by Earth's gravity...

"Why can't it see the lunar module ??
Google earth can zoom in on me picking my nose in the back garden, yet they still have no images of previous lunar landings ???? "

Maybe because there's a greater demand *read: 'willingness to pay for') for high-resolution imagery of large parts of Earth, than for the Moon?

Maybe Earth satellites are also cheaper to launch?

Maybe because Google Earth images are also shot from lower-altitude *airplanes* that don't work so well on the Moon?

"Oh wow, awesome B&W photos from the MOON!!!
Speaking as someone born in 1960:
ZZZZZZZZZ"

As someone six years older, I still think it's pretty cool.

Besides, the Moon is *not* known for having a wide range of color. I remember that well, too.

"There is for sure one man than can certify that indeed the USA placed men on the moon. That man would be President Obama, our Commander in Chief. He remains under oath and carries the promise of truth and transparenticy.....So ask?"

Now, I don't believe the hoaxers either, but...what makes you think that would prove anything? What was Barack Obama doing back in 1969?

And of course, NO president has ever, ever lied...

New moon vistas revealed

Frank Glover, Rochester, NY — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:49:26 GMT

"After thinking about it for a while, the decision became simple: If we had NOT been to the moon, don't you think the Soviets, our main reason to go to the moon in the first place, would have found a way to expose the fraud? Were they in on the conspiracy too???"

God bless you, that's my biggest argument against the conspiracy theorists, too. They have to think they have better resources than the KGB, *and* not understand the nature of the Cold War.

It would have been the greatest propaganda coup of ALL TIME if the Soviets could have proved we were faking it, yet they never so much as hinted at that.

And it would have cost them almost nothing. They would not necessarily have to follow it up with a landing of their own, to reap the rewards of exposing the fraud. (Though if they did, so much the better for them. Indeed, they may have come within a few weeks of trying to send one man *around* the Moon before Apollo 8. I almost wish they had, even if so they could not claim later that they had no interest in a manned Lunar program. If anything, they took the *opposite* tact of faking disinterest when it was clear they couldn't win, instead of faking success. As the expression goes; 'If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.')

And yes, in spite of that, I once skimmed through a Moon-hoax book that *does* claim the Soviets were in on it. Maybe it's because I'm old enough to remember Cold War rivalry, yet I have to think anyone with any knowledge of history will, at that point, just shake their heads and walk away from the whole hoax thing...

New moon vistas revealed

Jonathan West, San Diego, CA — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:59:01 GMT

Your cosmic log is most interesting. You might also want to see some additional amazing sights and read some more very interesting material on the special web site: http://Astrophysics21.Tripod.com

This place will surprise you. And yes, it's not commercial. It's pure space science, visual and otherwise.