Horizon Tale

There’s a meme that gets trotted out regularly by dribbling fuckwits with no ability to do spatial reasoning that claims that the lunar module shadow reaches the horizon, and therefore it’s a backdrop blah blah blah.

Here’s a typical example:

So, is it true?

No, of course it isn’t, and the following will demonstrate why.

The best way to show that the apparent horizon that we see in the image of Buzz Aldrin at the SEQ bay isn’t the actual horizon, merely one produced by local topography and the photographer’s position in it, is to look at things that might appear in different images of the same scene: rocks.

Let’s start off simply, here’s the image usually used in the meme (AS11-40-5928) compared with one taken from near Little West crater: AS11-40-5961. I’ve highlighted two specific areas in them both.

Firstly, it’s important to note here that the images above are low resolution version of the March to the Moon originals. Feel free to download them to double check. These originals tend to be darker than other scans, but I’ve resisted the temptation to adjust the levels in them. Nothing has been altered other than to add coloured markers.

Secondly, note that the shadow in the photo taken from further away is definitely not “touching the horizon”.

So, here’s what’s in the green rectangle:

Definitely the same rocks.

Now for the red one:

Granted it’s not as obvious, but they are definitely the same pair of rocks in both photos. Again, feel free to check for yourself.

Looks like the idea that the shadow is touching the horizon is getting a bit of a knock. Do we have any more evidence? How about those rocks that look like they’re on the horizon? Let’s pick one.

There they are in close-up (above). Be nice if we could find them in some other photos, wouldn’t it?

OK then, let’s see what other images might be useful. How about these two, just for starters, AS11-40-5854 (below left) and AS11-37-5461 (below right).

AS11-40-5854 was taken relatively early in the EVA (before Aldrin had joined Armstrong on the surface), while AS11-37-5461 was taken before either had left the LM. Notice the shadow is nowhere near touching the horizon, particularly in the shot taken from higher up inside the |LM. Now, what about the contents of the yellow squares:

It’s very obviously the same rock, or rocks - not the curve of lunar soil up against the side of it that is a clear match for the SEQ photo.

But wait, there’s more.

The SEQ photo was part of a panorama taken by Armstrong, and a couple of photos later we have AS11-40-5830.

The LM leg is still there for context, and the shadow is still ‘touching the horizon’, so it’s a valid comparison.

First thing to note is the yellow circle - it shows a rock that was almost completely shaded out in AS11-40-5854, but has now emerged from the shadows as the lunar sun moves higher in the sky over the course of the EVA.

As for the red and green circles, here’s what they contain.

A couple of very distinctive rocks that should be easy to pick out on other photos, so let’s do just that. We can use AS11-37-5461, but let’s throw in a couple more just for fun, like AS11-40-5945 (below right) and AS11-39-5786 (below left).

Pretty obvious them that no - the LM shadow isn’t touching the horizon in some of the photos, it’s just hitting a ridge, a ridge formed by the lip of the small crater next to which they landed, and beyond which is much more lunar terrain containing rocks and other craters that can be picked out by in numerous other photos.

The horizon is a variable thing, it depends on the terrain in view and the observers’s position in that. There is far more beyond the end of the LM shadow than is dreamt of in your average hoaxtard’s philosophy.

But wait, say the conspiraloons, it’s still just a stage set, so what if they’re the same rocks in all the photos, they aren’t in the moon!

Well, what if we could find them in images taken by modern lunar probes?

The best two available are those from the OHRC imager on India’s Chandrayaan-2, and the USA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. The OHRC has the best images, but the shadows are pointing the other way, so we’ll try both.

Let’s start with the distant shot of the LM, which shows a nice big rock quite close to it, with a couple of other rocks off to the left..

Here are those same rocks on the OHRC image.

OK then, what about those other rocks, the ones that looked like they were on the horizon in AS11-40-5830, but turned out to be just sitting minding hteir own business in a larger area nowhere near the horizon? Well, this is trickier, but I believe I’ve found them.

Here are the two rocks viewd from the LM. Important to note here that I have adjusted the levels to enhance details, and also stretched the photo vertically to make it easier to see the surface details. Nothing has been added or removed.

The rock on the left (rock A) is pointed, quite tall compared with the other rocks, and is obviously on the edge of a relatively deep crater, judging by its shadow. The rock on the right (rock B) also appears to be next to a crater, though this one is shallower. It also has another rock to its left.

Now let’s see if we can work out the field of view of AS11-40-5930, AS11-39-5786, and  AS11-40-5854 (left to right respectively):

Do we have any likely candidates for rocks A& B?

Rock A, you’ll recall, is near the left hand edge of the photos, with rock B (and it’s smaller attendant) a small distance to it’s right. Here we have two ideal candidates for them.

The green circled rock A is next to a crater, is obviously tall (judging by the length of the shadow), and there are other craters nearby in the right sort of locations. Rock B is next to a much shallower crater, and also has a much smaller satellite rock to its left. The fact that the shadows are being cast across the flat surface rather than the shadowed crater actually helps pick them out here.

You can just about make them out in the best LRO view under similar lighting to the OHRC.

Sure, the hoaxtards cry, they must have know about these rocks beforehand, that’s how they knew to put them there. Let’s have a look at the best available ones from the Lunar Orbiter probe. Let’s see.

Oh.

The rocks visible in lunar surface images show that the shadow of the LM did not touch some imaginary backdrop. The fact that those rocks were not known about prior to landing but have been confirmed by two different luanr proves since demonstrates very nicely that these photos were taken on the moon.

Prove me wrong.