Comments on: The Moon hoax will never die http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/ I am an astronomer, writer, and skeptic. I likes reality the way it is, and I aims to keep it that way. My real name is Phil Plait, and I run the Bad Astronomy blog. Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:50:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 By: John Roberts http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-108952 John Roberts Mon, 04 Aug 2008 04:06:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-108952 Michael Amato makes the best point here. If the Kaguya satellite can't see the rovers -then there's a problem. Why bother learning all that stuff about convex / concave lenses and focal points and what-not in physics to become a scientist - design a camera for a moon orbiting satellite - and then only after it is up there orbiting the moon suddenly discover "oops, looks like our cameras are not powerful enough to see the rovers". Uhm? So all that focal point stuff in physics is just nonsense? And even the Hubble can't see them? Wow. I wonder if you were on the moon standing like 5 feet away from one, if you could see it? These things are just darn hard to see man. Michael Amato makes the best point here. If the Kaguya satellite can’t see the rovers -then there’s a problem. Why bother learning all that stuff about convex / concave lenses and focal points and what-not in physics to become a scientist - design a camera for a moon orbiting satellite - and then only after it is up there orbiting the moon suddenly discover “oops, looks like our cameras are not powerful enough to see the rovers”. Uhm? So all that focal point stuff in physics is just nonsense? And even the Hubble can’t see them? Wow. I wonder if you were on the moon standing like 5 feet away from one, if you could see it? These things are just darn hard to see man.

]]> By: Bart Mitchell http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77687 Bart Mitchell Sun, 23 Mar 2008 01:59:49 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77687 You know what might be fun? Set up a date to rickroll the site. Have all the regular readers create accounts. Post hundreds of new posts and topics, and offer links for moon hoax sites. Then have all those links point to BA's moon hoax debunking page. You know what might be fun? Set up a date to rickroll the site. Have all the regular readers create accounts. Post hundreds of new posts and topics, and offer links for moon hoax sites. Then have all those links point to BA’s moon hoax debunking page.

]]> By: Celtic_Evolution http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77686 Celtic_Evolution Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:33:37 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77686 BPL... Nah... i was just giving you grief for the fun of it. He was never going to look for that answer. We both know that. :) BPL… Nah… i was just giving you grief for the fun of it. He was never going to look for that answer. We both know that. :)

]]> By: DAV http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77685 DAV Sat, 22 Mar 2008 16:06:22 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77685 BPL: <i>I beg to differ about the Apollo astronauts not having done anything significant.</i> Didn't say that, Barton. I said that the moon mission was done for grandstanding and with no really big economic driver to continue, it shriveled. <i>All these were killed in favor of the expensive shuttle program. And we’ve regretted it since.</i> Which only goes to prove my point. The near space program has economic advantages: weather sats, comm sats, land sats and, yes, even spy sats. <i>What’s needed is a voice. A strong voice from all who love space exploration. We must be heard, and keep the new program going.</i> Agreed. Von Braun was one of the best and really knew how to play the game. He couldn't sell economic advantage so he sold national pride. The truth is, general public interest in science mostly extends only to what we can get from it. That means <i>derived technology</i> making things better/cheaper or new sources of raw material, etc. <i>Science</i>, for the most part, ranks right alongside <i>farming technique</i> in terms of general interest. Who ever does the selling had better emphasize the economic advantage. Any science we get from it has to be treated as gravy instead of the main course. --- "And all this science i don't understand It's just my job five days a week: A rocket man..." -- Bernie Taupin BPL: I beg to differ about the Apollo astronauts not having done anything significant.

Didn’t say that, Barton. I said that the moon mission was done for grandstanding and with no really big economic driver to continue, it shriveled.

All these were killed in favor of the expensive shuttle program. And we’ve regretted it since.

Which only goes to prove my point. The near space program has economic advantages: weather sats, comm sats, land sats and, yes, even spy sats.

What’s needed is a voice. A strong voice from all who love space exploration. We must be heard, and keep the new program going.

Agreed. Von Braun was one of the best and really knew how to play the game. He couldn’t sell economic advantage so he sold national pride.

The truth is, general public interest in science mostly extends only to what we can get from it. That means derived technology making things better/cheaper or new sources of raw material, etc. Science, for the most part, ranks right alongside farming technique in terms of general interest.

Who ever does the selling had better emphasize the economic advantage. Any science we get from it has to be treated as gravy instead of the main course.

—
“And all this science i don’t understand
It’s just my job five days a week:
A rocket man…” — Bernie Taupin

]]> By: Barton Paul Levenson http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77684 Barton Paul Levenson Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:09:09 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77684 Celtic, I apologize, I should have held off. Celtic, I apologize, I should have held off.

]]> By: Grand Lunar http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77683 Grand Lunar Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:22:48 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77683 @ "Hax Or" and "DAV" I beg to differ about the Apollo astronauts not having done anything signifigent. From the samples that were returned, we added to our scientific knowledge of the Earth-moon system. We gained a better understanding of the moon's origin, and later how it influenced the Earth itself throughout it's history. While Apollo 11 was the main mission to prove we could go to the moon (as well as beating the Russians at something BIG), the later missions were undertaken as missions of scientific exploration. The main reason Apollo was killed, from what I've gathered, is that Nixon wanted to do away with a program associated with the democratic Kennedy administration. Had this not been the case, and the program left to continue toward the planned goals, we would've had bases on the moon, and manned Mars mission. We would've even had a nuclear powered rocket engine. All these were killed in favor of the expensive shuttle program. And we've regretted it since. What's needed is a voice. A strong voice from all who love space exploration. We must be heard, and keep the new program going. @ “Hax Or” and “DAV”

I beg to differ about the Apollo astronauts not having done anything signifigent.

From the samples that were returned, we added to our scientific knowledge of the Earth-moon system.
We gained a better understanding of the moon’s origin, and later how it influenced the Earth itself throughout it’s history.

While Apollo 11 was the main mission to prove we could go to the moon (as well as beating the Russians at something BIG), the later missions were undertaken as missions of scientific exploration.

The main reason Apollo was killed, from what I’ve gathered, is that Nixon wanted to do away with a program associated with the democratic Kennedy administration.
Had this not been the case, and the program left to continue toward the planned goals, we would’ve had bases on the moon, and manned Mars mission. We would’ve even had a nuclear powered rocket engine.

All these were killed in favor of the expensive shuttle program. And we’ve regretted it since.

What’s needed is a voice. A strong voice from all who love space exploration. We must be heard, and keep the new program going.

]]> By: Jack Hagerty http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77682 Jack Hagerty Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:46:58 +0000 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2008/03/20/the-moon-hoax-will-never-die/#comment-77682 Ken B says: "I seem to remember a sci-fi story involving colonizing a new planet, in which the first step was to send all the lawyers there to set up society, followed by sending colonists. Then it turns out that the whole thing was just a ruse to get rid of the lawyers, and no colonists were ever sent." "Restaurant at the End of the Universe" by the immortal DNA. - Jack Ken B says: “I seem to remember a sci-fi story involving colonizing a new planet, in which the first step was to send all the lawyers there to set up society, followed by sending colonists. Then it turns out that the whole thing was just a ruse to get rid of the lawyers, and no colonists were ever sent.”

“Restaurant at the End of the Universe” by the immortal DNA.

- Jack

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