# The American flag on the moon **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 20, 2003, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739 "2003-01-20T04:26:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/41 "2003-01-22T22:19:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by robby \* > \*\*Also, the Moon is moving relative to the HST. With no ability to track objects at the speed required, any attempt to photograph an object on the surface of the Moon would result in a blur. > > Cite: > [http://hubble.gsfc.nasa.gov/faq.html](http://hubble.gsfc.nasa.gov/faq.html) \*\* But, Hubble can and has taken photographs of the moon before. [http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/1999/14/](http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/1999/14/) Agreed that it doesn’t have the resolution to discern man made objects though, and would blur if the image was exposed too long. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/42 "2003-03-04T22:38:57Z")
Can infrared or some other wavelength scan show the metal of the objects we left on the moon? ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/43 "2003-03-04T23:35:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Can infrared or some other wavelength scan show the metal of the objects we left on the moon? We still [bounce laser pulses](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/399468.stm) off of some of the experiments we left behind. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/44 "2003-03-05T00:40:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Bad Astronomer \* > \*\*Not necessarily. The engine didn’t need to generate a huge amount of thrust to get off the Moon. Also, the gas plume expands very rapidly. The thrust can be large, but when spread out over a large area the _pressure_ drops quite a bit. The flag may have only felt a few ounces of pressure totalled over its surface. That’s why the rocket of the LM didn’t blast a crater in the Moon either. \*\* Just to clarify, **as you yourself have pointed out,** the MAIN reason the rocket did not leave a crater is simply that it did not put out that much thrust. Since the Moon’s gravity at the surface is only 1/6 that of the gravity on Earth at sea level, the thrust really didn’t have to be that substantial - only about 2,000 pounds at landing, maybe a few times that on takeoff. That’s not much at all, especially spread over the area of the engine nozzle. Your car exerts that much force on your driveway just by sitting there. ---
**Author:** ![beajerry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@beajerry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beajerry)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/45 "2003-03-05T21:35:21Z")
Why isn’t the laser bouncing enough evidence to convince crazy nutjobs that we went to the moon? I suppose they’ll say that the mirror was sent via unmanned rocket? Why are there nutjobs by the way? Why do they partake of modern science (like going to the ER to get their hearts fixed by all that modern medicine has to offer), and then deny that modern science is of any use? They should stay home, rant and rave, and die. Sorry, I went off on a nutjob tangent. ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/46 "2003-03-05T22:20:31Z")
While I certainly don’t disagree, that’s a subject for GD or the Pit, I’d say. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![TheeGrumpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@TheeGrumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheeGrumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739/47 "2003-03-05T22:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by **pipper** > And we have the result that a flag is roughly .0005 arcseconds wide when viewed from earth. > Which puts it at a size 100 times smaller than the Hubbel can resolve. Simple solution: send up a flag that’s 100 meters across. My mom will knit one. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-american-flag-on-the-moon/149739.md?page=2)