First off, this is my first post (I joined because I have this question to ask). Hi everybody.
I was looking at videos on YouTube and found This badly thought out "Hoax Proof" video. NOTE. The video of interest is actually 3:06 in. Before that is a load of clips of the flag waving around whilst in the hands of the astronauts, no idea why (maybe to pack it out to 9:57).

The clip is a favourite with CTs, but I'm unsure myself as to the reason for the movement of the flag. These are my observations after downloading the full clip from the archive (feel free to correct me on any):
1. The flag had stopped swinging after positioning
2. The astronaut was not close enough to brush it as he passed
3. The flag movement happens as he passes, not after he's gone past as CTs suggest.

Their claim that it proves that this was filmed in an atmosphere is wrong. For one thing, in the full video clip they are positioning the flag, twisting it back and forth. The flag waves about in a way that I'd love to see a CT reproduce on earth. Also the movement is wrong for the pressure wave they are suggesting.

The point is I don't really know how to explain the movement (not enough knowledge in the area) and I'm sure there are people here who do.
If I can get the answer to this I can easily disprove every "proof" I have so far seen.

TY
Pete

I don't think anyone has come up with a definitive answer, but there are at least three possible explanations:
The astronaut did indeed brush against the flag (difficult to judge the distance).
The astronaut carried a static electric charge that moved the flag.
The astronaut kicked dirt against the flagpole.
Take your pick.

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"The truth may be out there, but lies are inside your head" Terry Pratchett

Inertia. If you push a piece of cloth, you'll create a wave of movement that will propagate on the tissue. In vacuum, there's no air to dissipate the energy in this movement, so the wave bounces back and forth on the tissue until the strain on it dampens the wave enough. Of course, there are other specific details about the interaction with the pole and whatnot, but that's basically it.

If you look at the video, the speed and amplitude of the movement at the only free tip of the flag, when they are putting the flag on the ground, is a clear sign of a vacuum. The little movement you see later is just the residual energy of that wave.

Since most tissue and all the other points can't move a lot due to proximity from the edges, only the tip seems to show any movement, but the energy is there, on the rest of the flag, bouncing back and forth with complex interference patterns.

And regarding to the specific claim on the video, if you take a closer look at the flag before the astronaut (not sure who it was) passes by, it was already waving, and I'm sure that if you had access to the entire clip you would be able to see it better.

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Also, welcome to the board. Read the rules and stay awhile!

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

In my experience, nothing you can possibly come up with will change their minds.

When all else fails, they'll call you a paid NASA stooge.

They are positively the most obstinate in all of Conspiracydom.

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Wanted: Diabolical Plan for World Domination.

The flag waves about in a way that I'd love to see a CT reproduce on earth.

Agreed. The expected behavior of the flag in conspiracy theories seems to be eternally either a begged question or a simplistic inference. I have yet to see a conspiracist test his assumption of how a flag should behave in air. Nor have I yet to see a conspiracist demonstrate, in air, flag movement that duplicates the movement from Apollo video.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base

See topic Waving Flag in Apollo 15.

Touched on in topic Why is that flag not moving?.

Also, it is mentioned in many topics as a side issue; Google-search site for flag-waving apollo-15.

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Upon viewing that video at the 3:06 mark, my immediate reaction was that it looked like someone took one oscillation and simply spliced the footage backwards and forwards to make it look like many oscillations. But we know it's legit footage so, as you said, the flag waves about in a way that I'd love to see a CT reproduce on earth.

If someone starts something moving (even in a vacuum), it doesn't automatically stop just because they let go. In fact, in a vacuum, it would kind of be less likely to stop. I enjoy it when CTs show "proof" that the astronauts were not on the moon when their "proof" only reinforces the idea they were on the moon.