[X] My Assistant

[djellison]

The shadow of the CSM

Or a spec of dust on the window. That's not a shadow - if it is, it's HUGE - seriously - they could hardly resolve the LEM from Orbit - and we're expected to believe we can see the CSM's shadow from orbit?

Doug

[dvandorn]

Yeah... for instance, the full image from which the detail is taken shows a similar-looking black dot several kilometers to the south of the dot in question, which looks quite similar to this purported shadow.

Of course, this image was taken at about 80,000 feet, and I have often been flying at 35,000 feet in an airliner and been able to see the shadow of the airplane on the ground, looking quite large to my eye. So, it's not intrinsically impossible. Just unlikely.

-the other Doug

[ilbasso]

Here's a good discussion of the size of shadows, umbral and penumbral, cast by planes on the ground. I never thought I would find myself quoting USAToday, but it's a good and simple discussion.

Size of shadows

The CSM's shadown would not have been very big, as noted above. At this height the combined umbra and penumbra would not have been much more than 50 feet or so, which would be a pretty small shadow to spot from this altitude. Perhaps the lack of atmospheric diffusion did help somewhat with increasing the penumbral contrast. Also, do we know what focal length lens was used for this photo, i.e., was it a telephoto?

What would be a real surprise would be to see a "glory" around the shadow!

[ugordan]

There is indeed a black dot in a position where you would expect the CSM shadow to be cast.

It's not even in the correct place for it to be the the CSM shadow. See the hill it's "cast onto" and where the hill itself casts its shadow, toward the upper right, yet the CSM "casts" it toward the lower left. It's also missing the opposition highlight.

I dunno. My money's on a dust speck. All of it.

[ilbasso]

...My money's on a dust speck. All of it.

Given the state of the economy, your statement is an accurate description of my retirement account.

[Guest_Zvezdichko_*]

http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/index_j.html

There are new maps published. Laser altimetry!

http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/data/jpn/tc/025/tc_025_l.jpg - a new TC image

Plus two subimages:

http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/data/jpn/tc/025/tc_025_1_l.jpg
http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/data/jpn/tc/025/tc_025_2_l.jpg

[ilbasso]

It's not even in the correct place for it to be the the CSM shadow. See the hill it's "cast onto" and where the hill itself casts its shadow, toward the upper right, yet the CSM "casts" it toward the lower left. It's also missing the opposition highlight.

I dunno. My money's on a dust speck. All of it.

Not to continue to flog a dead horse, but looking at the enlargement of this photos in the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal, there are two specks that are the same size as the 'shadow'. And it doesn't show up at all the the two subsequent frames, which are neatly assembled into an anaglyph.

[4th rock from th...]

Link (in japanese) to large altimetry maps from Kaguya:

http://gisstar.gsi.go.jp/selene/

[ArMaP]

Link (in japanese) to large altimetry maps from Kaguya:

http://gisstar.gsi.go.jp/selene/

Sorry for the ignorance from a Portuguese guy, but as I do not know Japanese (yet) and I am new in space exploration related subjects, even as a spectator, can you tell me why does it say 2005 if it's made with data from Kaguya?

Thanks.

Edited to correct the quote, I quoted the wrong post.

[elakdawalla]

As with so many things, Google (in this case the Google translator) is your friend. Here's a direct link to the Google translation of the page from Japanese to Portuguese.

The 2005 map is provided "de referência," for comparison to the new Kaguya map, so you can see the improvement in topographic detail.

--Emily

[ArMaP]

Thanks, I even quoted the wrong post (I just corrected my previous post), I could not look much more ignorant than this.

And then did a full in-line quote of the previous post. - ADMIN

[4th rock from th...]

Nothing wrong in asking questions. The 2005 date is a reference to the previous topographic map, the "The Unified Lunar Control Network 2005" (see http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1367/).

Even without translation you can always look at the links on a foreign language web page, as most of the times they point to resources in English, as in this case.

[ustrax]

Doug...you may slap me in the face but all I wanted with this post was to be able to say...look! 1, 2, 3 portugueses in a row!
Hey! It may not happen again in my lifetime...
ok...now you can slap me...

Benvindo ArMaP!

[Guest_Zvezdichko_*]

What is this?

http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/selene_viewer/jp...e/pace_001.html

http://wms.selene.jaxa.jp/selene_viewer/jp.../pace_001_l.jpg

[centsworth_II]

What is this?

I found this in the English version of the JAXA site:

Plasma energy Angle and Composition Experiment(PACE)

"Results Expected

Sputtered ions from the lunar surface

Sputtered ions from the lunar surface will be measured for the first time. Recently, ground-based observations have revealed the existence of tenuous alkali-atmosphere around the moon. The rarefied atmosphere is thought to be produced mainly by solar photons and the solar wind.
Sputtering by the solar wind that is one of the source mechanisms of the tenuous atmosphere presumably produces the secondary ions reflecting the composition of the lunar surface."

But in my quick search, I didn't find an English translation of the image caption.