It has often puzzled me that so many people seem to subscribe to the moon landings back in the sixties as being made up, faked, and tailored in some movie set back lot somewhere!
I have to admit that looking at the logistics involved in carrying out such a huge undertaking as safely landing men on the moon, and getting them back to earth in one piece, is really quite staggering!
There is much evidence to support the validity of the moon landings, and just as much conjecture by some, to suggest that it was a big con job
Yet, those of us who are true optimists like to believe that during the later part of the sixties during those famous Nasa missions that for a brief time, at least, the whole world was as one in regards to the interest and enthusiasm that was shown towards the missions that were being broadcast across the globe......In a funny sort of way it was a global journey to the moon, and we all felt a part of that historic event, in some small way!
Certainly at that time the US space industry was the envy of the world and unfortunately has not seen a return to its former glory I think since!
Government cut backs and budget restraints have a way of slowing down creative thoughts and endeavors quite successfully!

Anyway, the point that has really bugged me for a long time in regards to the legitimacy of the moon landings is that if we are to believe the footage that was shown of many landings and take offs from the moons surface, then the remaining items that were left behind would still.....IN THEORY...be there...Hmmmm!
So!...You would have to think that given the amazing ability that earth based telescopes have, that there would be no real reason as to why, for instance, they couldn't image the remaining section of the LEM that was left behind during the Apollo missions, or the Lunar Rover that was used during the later Apollo missions when so much of the moons geology was researched and even gathered and brought back to Earth.......

I have no doubt that the true conspiracy believers would be quick to point out that any such images derived from a telescope would have been doctored, or faked, but I still would like to know myself if such an undertaking would be possible, and whether it could truly substantiate the existance of such hardware still remaining on the surface of the moon?
So..........For those of you out there that think that it may be plausible to carry out such an undertaking let me know!.........I would dearly love to lay the moon landing conspiracy theme to rest for now, and forever, and would passionately love to show that the efforts and endeavours of the Apollo missions back in the sixties deserve the admiration and respect they deserve for being one of man kinds greatest achievements in the exploration of space.

Chew it over!.......I am curious as to whether the big scopes of the world would have sufficient enough resolution to image such items left on the surface of the moon, but it's an interesting thought none the less.........looking forward to hearing your thoughts on the matter, both for and against.........should be interesting!
1701Dale.......

No, they can't, unfortunately. Here is a post of pzkpfw's from last year in the Moon Hoax thread that addresses the question. We've talked about it a lot--here is the Moon Hoax - A Simple Solution thread, with over 700 posts, on various aspects of the issue/issues.

Welcome to BAUT!

Discussed here: Can we see lunar landing "leftovers" on the moon f

And here: Hubble resolution

In short, no current earth or space telescope has sufficient resolution to image residual Apollo lunar hardware. It's possible future ground-based optical telescopes using adaptive optics and optical interferometry might do that, but it will be quite a few years before that's achieved.

But the Apollos did leave laser reflectors that have contributed to the study of the Moon's orbit and the shape of the Earth.
See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/399468.stm

But this doesn't convince some people.
See: http://www.erichufschmid.net/Intervi...rt-Sibrel.html
"Reflectors on the moon are not proof!"
But the guy who says that is also an anti-semitic, who believes that the US Government, allied with Israel, caused the 9/11 events, that the pregnat Princess Diana was murdered - etc.etc.

John

Oh well, I feel at least, not so lonely in my thoughts on how to resolve the issue of left over hardware on the moon from the Apollo missions.
It seems many of you are on the same page and there has obviously been much discussion on the topic..........Pity......How cool would a poster size print be of the Sea of Tranquility base site, complete with the remains of the LEM and the other leftover hardware......I would pay to see that!
Looks like I will have to wait for the optical telescopes of the world to be a little more advanced than they already are, but in the mean time I think most of us level headed thinkers can bask in the knowledge that man has most certainly set foot on the moon, more than once it would seem, and I'm going to predict that the moon won't be the last place in the solar system that bares the impressions of mankind in one fashion or another............Lets dream on!

Here's a good source of verifiable information about the Moon landings as well as dissections of the various hoax claims.

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So does the fact that the Russians landed laser reflectors by unmanned probes mean we can not use them as evidence?

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Well, you might be in for a long wait. The Moon is too bright for the largest telescopes to look directly at it, and even the largest of the planned next generation wouldn't have the resolution to see anything of note from the Apollo leftovers. If you want to see it and have no doubts, you'll have to go in person to the Moon.

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Large telescopes can directly image the moon, it's just rarely done. This is obvious since an amateur 12" telescope can directly image the sun, with appropriate filters.

Large telescope observing time is valuable, and the instrument package is set up for dimmer objects. Looking at the moon would waste time from higher-priority objects, require filters/reconfiguration of the instrument package, and not show anything beyond a smaller telescope.

In theory the current largest optical interferometers when fully operational will be able to image residual Apollo lunar hardware. In fact a VLTI official said: "we will, if we wanted to, be able to resolve and photograph Apollo debris left on the Moon." http://www.vectorsite.net/tascope_04.html:

I'm not totally sure of that, since current optical interferometry (while impressive) doesn't work well for complex objects at lower temperatures.

The point is we don't need a new generation of telescopes with ever-large apertures to see Apollo lunar hardware. The current baselines of optical interferometers are sufficiently large. Rather additional technical development is needed so these devices work better on complex objects at lower temperatures.

You have (if you pay taxes in America) In 2008, LRO will launch with a 50cm/pixel camera ( called LROC ) and that will certainly image the Apollo 11 site, and the left hardware will be quite obvious on the ground.

Doug

I think the dilemma is that unless you can build an instrument that lets a doubter see with his/her own eyes the stuff on the moon, they will still doubt. Telescope interferometry isn't going to do that yet.

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Oh - even if you put a HB's eyes on a 500 metre telescope and showed them the footprints - they'd say it was all put there by unmanned craft. The worst of the HB's not only believe that we didn't go to the moon, they believe it was IMPOSSIBLE for us to go to the moon - so ANYTHInG you show them has to be a work of fiction and conspiracy in their eyes.

Doug

Sibrel let himself be interviewed by a site that wrote curse words in response to something he wrote? Talk about lack of standards.

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Hey Doug!........Not being a US resident, I guess I havn't paid any taxes directly towards the LROC project, but you can sure as hell bey I'll be paying lots of attention to the data that camera captures and sends back!
Looking forward to the pics from the moon.........Got a screen saver placed reserved for that tranquility base site for sure!

So true, and so reminiscent of those who would not look through Galileo's telescope because of their beliefs...

In some ways, we have evolved very little in the last 400 years...sigh.

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As indicated, not a problem - including not for Hubble. I've eyeballed the full Moon directly through a 36" reflector, and just two letters suffice to describe that experience:

"Wow!"

and

"Ow!"

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It is important to note that not all believers in one conspiracy are believers in all conspiracies, and especially please note that only a small subset of people who believe in one or more conspiracy theories can be said to be antisemitic. JohnD was talking about ONE guy in particular.

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I think in a previous thread I worked out that to view the footprints in any recognisable way, it'd require a main mirror 1.7 km across.

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Apollo: The History and the Hoax
Enter the World of Athran

Yep, I think that was right. It rings a bell somewhere in my mind ..... <sound of bell echoing around in a hollow space ..... gradually dies away ..... >

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