by JohnD » Fri Apr 18, 2014 2:46 pm
Nitpicker wrote:A new Moon rises and sets with the Sun.
Of course, NP, up to a point.
But how about this?
http://www.starrynightphotos.com/moon/moon_set.htm
There must be days in the month when the crescent Moon is visible at Earthdawn (cold atmosphere) when the Apoolo 15 site is also near dawn (cold surroundings)
An eclipse is no more predictable than such an event, and I suppose less frequent.
But we argue in the vacuum of our own ignorance - mine anyway.
JOhn
PS AH! So! I've found out why they took readings at eclipse.
See:
http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/source ... 2014-02-06
The investigators wanted to know why they got so few photons returned. They postulated that the reflectors, heated in the Moon day, were the problem. So they read the reflectors at short intervals, while in sunlight and when eclipsed. They found that when the reflectors were eclipsed, as predicted they returned TEN TIMES more photons! They confirmed this finding with all the Apollo reflectors and the Russian one as the Earth's shadow swept across the Moon.
To be able to do so at such short intervals minimised any interference by changes in the Earth's atmosphere, something impossible if they waited two weeks between Moonday and Moonnight readings. J.
[quote="Nitpicker"]A new Moon rises and sets with the Sun.[/quote]
Of course, NP, up to a point.
But how about this? http://www.starrynightphotos.com/moon/moon_set.htm
There must be days in the month when the crescent Moon is visible at Earthdawn (cold atmosphere) when the Apoolo 15 site is also near dawn (cold surroundings)
An eclipse is no more predictable than such an event, and I suppose less frequent.
But we argue in the vacuum of our own ignorance - mine anyway.
JOhn
PS AH! So! I've found out why they took readings at eclipse.
See: http://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/source_of_moon_curse_revealed_by_eclipse?utm_campaign=thisweek&utm_medium=email&utm_source=tw-2014-02-06
The investigators wanted to know why they got so few photons returned. They postulated that the reflectors, heated in the Moon day, were the problem. So they read the reflectors at short intervals, while in sunlight and when eclipsed. They found that when the reflectors were eclipsed, as predicted they returned TEN TIMES more photons! They confirmed this finding with all the Apollo reflectors and the Russian one as the Earth's shadow swept across the Moon.
To be able to do so at such short intervals minimised any interference by changes in the Earth's atmosphere, something impossible if they waited two weeks between Moonday and Moonnight readings. J.