# So tell me something about this? Re- Moon landing pictures **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768 "2004-02-18T08:26:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AsherElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@AsherElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AsherElite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/1 "2004-02-18T08:26:52Z")
OK I know what you will all say when I bring this subject up but I dont care. I was just looking around [space.com](http://space.com) and found some pictures from the first moon landing. So tell me why there are no stars in any of these pictues? They are very good quality too. just goto [http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=ss](http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=ss) then click " The moon in new lighting" or "Moon Fever and just take a look through all the pictures ---
**Author:** ![AsherElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@AsherElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AsherElite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/2 "2004-02-18T08:27:57Z")
Im sure everyone has herd about how they faked the moon landing. Although there are alot of people who think that is just BS… so tell me what you think! ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/3 "2004-02-18T08:40:44Z")
> [@AsherElite](#): > > OK I know what you will all say when I bring this subject up but I dont care. I was just looking around [space.com](http://space.com) and found some pictures from the first moon landing. So tell me why there are no stars in any of these pictues? They are very good quality too. > just goto > [http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=ss](http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/imagegallery/archive.php?category=ss) > > then click " The moon in new lighting" or "Moon Fever and just take a look through all the pictures If you already know the answer, then why are you asking? I’ve taken a few shots of the night sky and in order to get the stars you have to use a slow shutter, timed over several minutes at least to get a picture. But then you already know this so WTF? The photos you refer to are taken obviously with a quick shutter. Try going outside with a camera and take a few shots. Damn, that sounds like a good idea. I got a cold bottle of tequila…wanna a take few shots w/ me? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Zardoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a8b319/32.png) [@Zardoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zardoz)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/4 "2004-02-18T08:40:48Z")
IANARS, nor am I a professional photographer, but I would think that the glare of the sun off the moon’s surface would wash out stars in those pics. But take it from someone else and check out this site: [http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html) He takes the hoax theory piece by piece and tears it apart. Really, there’s some perfectly legitimate conspiracy theories out there to sink your teeth into. I’m a big fan of them. But the moon landing wasn’t hoaxed. Move along, nothing to see here… ---
**Author:** ![Spiny\_Norman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@Spiny\_Norman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiny_Norman)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/5 "2004-02-18T08:41:57Z")
> [@AsherElite](#): > > Im sure everyone has herd about how they faked the moon landing. Although there are alot of people who think that is just BS… so tell me what you think! IMHO - which is where speculation belongs, incidentally - it’s just BS. But to reply to the factual question: There are no stars because stars are faint objects and a sun-lit moon is a bright object. When you take photos with a bright object in the foreground, faint objects in the background are not sufficiently exposed to show up in the photo. And if you should plan to start in on non-parallel shadows, fluttering flags, lack of exhaust craters, temperature on the Moon’s surface, the “C” rock and whatever else claptrap is being peddled these days, I urge you to consult these sites: [www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html](http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html) [www.clavius.org](http://www.clavius.org) Enjoy! - it’s good reading. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/6 "2004-02-18T08:46:30Z")
> [@AsherElite](#): > > so tell me what you think! This is General Questions, not IMHO. The truth is that the moon landings happened. Opinions to the contrary are not supported by the facts. Or, rather, they are supported by misinterpretations of the facts. ---
**Author:** ![AsherElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@AsherElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AsherElite)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/7 "2004-02-18T08:47:08Z")
tequila sounds really good right about now!! but thats all I wanted to know why, thx for your replys ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/8 "2004-02-18T08:50:02Z")
[http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae323.cfm](http://www.physlink.com/Education/AskExperts/ae323.cfm) Thought I’d get a little backup since this is General Questions and I assume the question is: Q: Why are there no stars in the photos? A: Wrong shutter speed and too much reflective light in the foreground. ---
**Author:** ![t-keela](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a3d4f5/32.png) [@t-keela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/t-keela)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/9 "2004-02-18T08:52:58Z")
> [@AsherElite](#): > > tequila sounds really good right about now!! > but thats all I wanted to know why, thx for your replys No problem…and cheers 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Quint\_Essence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/54ee81/32.png) [@Quint\_Essence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint_Essence)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/10 "2004-02-18T13:18:48Z")
It isn’t just a matter of shutter speed. The stars are not visible for the same reason they aren’t visible on earth during the day. The sun is too bright. Astronauts were no more able to see stars while standing on the lighted side of the moon than the camera was. While the earths atmosphere does scatter sunlight more than the moons slight atmosphere, that scattering has only a small impact on visibility of the stars. The reflected light from the surface itself is what washes out the faint starlight. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/11 "2004-02-18T15:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > _Quint Essence wrote:_ > It isn’t just a matter of shutter speed… The reflected light from the surface itself is what washes out the faint starlight. Washes out? If the camera lens is functioning properly, the only light to reach the part of the film where the sky shows is the sky. There’s nothing to wash out. But the camera is set up to have the bright stuff on the surface properly exposed, which means there is a fast shutter speed. And with a fast shutter, the film doesn’t collect enough light from a star to have it show up. Stars are really really really faint compared to stuff that’s lit up by the sun. However, if the astronauts wanted to take star photos, they could have pointed the cameras up and done so, even there in broad daylight. But since they had just travelled a quarter million miles to see the Moon, and they could see the stars the whole journey there, I can see why this wouldn’t have occurred to them. ---
**Author:** ![aerodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f08c70/32.png) [@aerodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aerodave)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/12 "2004-02-18T16:36:05Z")
> [@Quint Essence](#): > > While the earths atmosphere does scatter sunlight more than the moons slight atmosphere, that scattering has only a small impact on visibility of the stars. No no no…the moon has NO atmosphere. Period. There’s no scattering, no nuthin’. If the astronaut was on the sunlit side of the moon, and either faced away from the sun or blocked it out with his hand, I wager he wouddl be able to see stars. But even if he couldn’t, it would be glare from the bright lunar soil, and not from atmospheric scattering. Did I mention the moon has no atmosphere? ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-tell-me-something-about-this-re-moon-landing-pictures/229768/13 "2004-02-18T17:18:39Z")
> [@audilover](#): > > Did I mention the moon has no atmosphere? Weeeeeeelll… I doubt that the moon has _enough_ of an atmosphere so that one could distinguish it from pure vacuum based on any scattering. [However,](http://www.iac.es/galeria/mrk/atmo_lun.html) > [@](#): > > We often read in books that the Moon is an airless world. This is in fact not true at all. The Moon’s atmosphere is a very delicate balance between various processes and may > already have been altered by human action beyond all hope of recovery… [T]here is a very tenuous lunar atmosphere, which has a total mass of only about 10 000Kg (10 tonnes). Most of the atmosphere is made up of Hydrogen, Helium and Neon captured from the solar wind… Just the Apollo missions to the Moon increased the atmospheric density by a factor of 10 with rocket exhaust (mostly CHON compounds). That leads me to wonder how quickly the exhaust plume dissipates in the vicinity of the Apollo lander, where any pictures would have been taken.