JayUtah, thanks for that link to
the photo in the Apollo Image Atlas.
I had forgotten that the information with orbital photos there states the latitude and longitude of the spacecraft (4° N / 134° E) and features. In this case, the two largest craters are Green (4° N / 133° E) and Hartmann (3° N / 135° E -- in the foreground). That makes it more than 60km between the centres of the two craters. Their identification leads to finding them on a map, which in turn gives us more information about the photo.
Jairo, note the above for identification of lunar features at the Apollo Image Atlas in future cases.
Anyway, we have a rather odd orientation of the LM in this photo, AS11-40-5844. Instead of facing in its westerly line of travel, it appears to be facing nearly north, perhaps north-northwest.
Link to high-resolution photo.
A line through the centres of the two biggest craters to the horizon points roughly northwest, and the direction of the LM's travel is along the top of the "UFO," from lower right to upper left.
A line from the lowest left (7:30 position) of the rim of the foreground crater, Hartmann, to the same part of the small, sharp crater which is partly covered by the highest point of the UFO, is close to parallel to the moon's equator and the LM's path. Therefore Jay is correct in saying the sun would be in front and to the left.
It appears that from this, and from what we can see in the two copies of the photo, the LM is feet-down and facing nearly north. With the sun high ahead and to the left, I wonder if it's possible that a chink of sunlight is coming through the overhead docking window and catching part of Aldrin's spacesuit to the right and, as Jay says, across the cabin. This could better explain the sharpness of a suit than if it were Armstrong's suit closer to the window.
But would the camera axis and the slant of the window allow such a reflection without Armstrong blocking it? Aren't there also white fabrics and straps with dome closures up near the ceiling of the LM, and some in the back?
Jamesmatthews, may I point out that debating robustly is not the same as being cranky?
You said, "They are focused on infinity to get the moon to be as clear and sharp as possible." Not necessarily. The best trick in using a wide-angle lens is to use its depth-of-field scale ("sharpness zone" for laypeople) and set its hyperfocal distance for the aperture being used, because focussing on infinity can waste valuable depth of field. For example, the hyperfocal distance for a 24mm lens on a 35mm camera at f11 is just over 2 metres, and gets everything in focus from one metre to infinity. The Biogon would have much less depth of field than this, but the principle is the same. From reading the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, I get the impression that the astronauts made full use of hyperfocal distances. It makes good sense for them to have done so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor
I do find it curious that the reflection would be as clear as that, but not have anything else visible in reflection.
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It's not curious if it is caused by sunlight coming through the small overhead docking window above the commander's position. This small patch of sunlight can often be seen moving around in TV shots of the LM's interior.