APOD: Apollo 14: A View from Antares (2021 Feb 04)

[APOD Robot]

Apollo 14: A View from Antares

Explanation: Fifty years ago this Friday, Apollo 14's Lunar Module Antares landed on the Moon. Toward the end of the stay astronaut Ed Mitchell snapped a series of photos of the lunar surface while looking out a window, assembled into this detailed mosaic by Apollo Lunar Surface Journal editor Eric Jones. The view looks across the Fra Mauro highlands to the northwest of the landing site after the Apollo 14 astronauts had completed their second and final walk on the Moon. Prominent in the foreground is their Modular Equipment Transporter, a two-wheeled, rickshaw-like device used to carry tools and samples. Near the horizon at top center is a 1.5 meter wide boulder dubbed Turtle rock. In the shallow crater below Turtle rock is the long white handle of a sampling instrument, thrown there javelin-style by Mitchell. Mitchell's fellow moonwalker and first American in space, Alan Shepard, also used a makeshift six iron to hit two golf balls. One of Shepard's golf balls is just visible as a white spot below Mitchell's javelin.

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[RocketRon]

So what is par on the Apollo Lunar Golf Course. ?

What is a typical tee shot distance with say a 2 wood ??
Should be able to get some fabulous distance - if you don't cartwheel from the follow through !
Which begs the question - could you put a golf ball in orbit.

Did anyone ever photograph the 'night sky' in the shade.
With no atmosphere to scatter the light, the stars should be brightly visible as soon as the sun is shaded.
Be a fabulous view of the whole universe, in fact ??

[WWW]

Ahh, editor Jones we have a problem.
In the picture it seems that one of the small thruster nozzles is partially transparent, you can see the ground behind it, as if it wasn't even there! Maybe the whole picture is a fraud? Could the whole landing have been staged, (in a remote sandy back lot in Houston TX)? We need another view, we need to see if that flag is flapping in the wind, and who put all those little black crosses on the ground? Lastly, it looks like someone left their camera on that fancy beach chair.

[JohnD]

It seems to be a false meme of the Apollo story, aided by Shepherd's own account that he hit his golf balls "miles and miles". Theoretically, given the trejectory of a ball on Earth that would be true, but the limitations of the space suit and reduced gravity on stance and balance severly limited their range. One was a misshot, and hardly went any distance, another was the one that landed about 200 metres away in front of Turtle Rock, the last went "miles and miles and miles",but did it really? Golfers, what can you do with them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jYOub ... =NASAVideo

[Tsabeau]

When I zoomed into the rock near the horizon, I noticed a reddish “bubble” on and just above the horizon, near the rock.. Is that lens flare or swamp gas?

[orin stepanek]

Kinda curios; is there any data of how far Shepherd hit that ball? Miles & miles not really a answer!
That Lunar dust looks like it Could be pretty Fertile for farming Cept it would have to be in a cooler place with water and an atmosphere 🥳! JMO! I'm sure a colony on Luna would have proper conditions for gardening!

[Ann]

It seems to be a false meme of the Apollo story, aided by Shepherd's own account that he hit his golf balls "miles and miles". Theoretically, given the trejectory of a ball on Earth that would be true, but the limitations of the space suit and reduced gravity on stance and balance severly limited their range. One was a misshot, and hardly went any distance, another was the one that landed about 200 metres away in front of Turtle Rock, the last went "miles and miles and miles",but did it really? Golfers, what can you do with them?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_jYOub ... =NASAVideo

Funny, John! Thanks for the video!

Ann

[TheZuke!]

Continuing the focus on the scientific golf experiment Shepard conducted...

So, Johnny Carson lied during his monologue when he told us that Shepard hit "a crater in one!"?

[TheZuke!]

Kinda curios; is there any data of how far Shepherd hit that ball? Miles & miles not really a answer!

Orin, my good man, I'm surprised that you seem to have overlooked the fact that on The Moon optical phenomena behave differently than here on Earth, OR that the SI distance unit for "miles" is vastly different on natural satellites!

[orin stepanek]

Kinda curios; is there any data of how far Shepherd hit that ball? Miles & miles not really a answer!

Orin, my good man, I'm surprised that you seem to have overlooked the fact that on The Moon optical phenomena behave differently than here on Earth, OR that the SI distance unit for "miles" is vastly different on natural satellites!

Basically; I was guessing actual measurements rather than estimates; which I figure was not realistic unless the ball was found!

[johnnydeep]

Continuing the focus on the scientific golf experiment Shepard conducted...

So, Johnny Carson lied during his monologue when he told us that Shepard hit "a crater in one!"?

How so? The text says that one of the balls he hit is in the crater below the javelin. That would be a crater in one, wouldn't it?

[johnnydeep]

Ahh, editor Jones we have a problem.
In the picture it seems that one of the small thruster nozzles is partially transparent, you can see the ground behind it, as if it wasn't even there! Maybe the whole picture is a fraud? Could the whole landing have been staged, (in a remote sandy back lot in Houston TX)? We need another view, we need to see if that flag is flapping in the wind, and who put all those little black crosses on the ground? Lastly, it looks like someone left their camera on that fancy beach chair.

Cute, and I do see the the nozzle artifact. As for the rest of your text, please don't speak too loudly: this is how conspiracy theories gain new life.

[Robot]

Are there any still-active cameras from the Apollo landings?

[ptahhotep]

There is an article on the BBC news site about how far the golf balls went (not very far) here.

[bystander]

...
Could the whole landing have been staged, (in a remote sandy back lot in Houston TX)?
...

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

[Ann]

...
Could the whole landing have been staged, (in a remote sandy back lot in Houston TX)?
...

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

So funny, bystander! The conspiracy to end all conspiracies!

Thank you!

Ann

[Bird_Man]

When I zoomed into the rock near the horizon, I noticed a reddish “bubble” on and just above the horizon, near the rock.. Is that lens flare or swamp gas?

It appears that the sun is over the astronauts right shoulder and shouldn’t cause a lens flair. Since they were shooting through the lander’s window, I wonder if it could be a reflection of something inside?

[johnnydeep]

...
Could the whole landing have been staged, (in a remote sandy back lot in Houston TX)?
...

Click to play embedded YouTube video.

So funny, bystander! The conspiracy to end all conspiracies!

Thank you!

Ann

Yeah, that's a great video!

[JohnD]

There is an article on the BBC news site about how far the golf balls went (not very far) here.

Thank you, ptahhotep! Only published the same day as the APOD!

But Shepherd hit THREE balls didn't he? See the video I linked to. No.1 "more dirt than ball", No.2 "straight as a die". It was No. 3 that went "miles and miles"! Or did he take two strokes at the first? Didn't score a penalty stroke AFAIK!

There was no way he could pick up the first ball after he dropped it.

[neufer]

Shepard and Mitchell trekked 1300 meters up the side of Cone crater

---

There is an article on the BBC news site about how far the golf balls went (not very far) here.

An average amateur can drive a golf ball ~200 meters on Earth
and, hence, ~1,200 meters on the Moon (with 1/6th gravity).

• That is about the distance to Cone Crater.

Sheppard's 37 meter second shot meant that he could hit the ball with only about 18% proficiency. (Speed is more important that gravity.)

[Chris Peterson]

An average amateur can drive a golf ball ~200 meters on Earth
and, hence, ~1,200 meters on the Moon (with 1/6th gravity).

That would be the case if gravity were the most relevant factor. But it isn't. The thing that lets you drive much farther on the Moon is the lack of air resistance. I did the calculation for a 100 mph ball speed (probably reasonable for an amateur, although high for the equipment used on the Moon) and came up with a distance of 5000 meters.

[neufer]

An average amateur can drive a golf ball ~200 meters on Earth
and, hence, ~1,200 meters on the Moon (with 1/6th gravity).

That would be the case if gravity were the most relevant factor. But it isn't. The thing that lets you drive much farther on the Moon is the lack of air resistance.

Golf balls are designed to minimize air resistance on Earth.

Golf balls are not designed to minimize "bounce/roll" resistance on the Moon.

I did the calculation for a 100 mph ball speed (probably reasonable for an amateur, although high for the equipment used on the Moon) and came up with a distance of 5000 meters.

5000 feet perhaps.

A 45º parabola spends t = v x sqrt(2)/g seconds in the air
moving at a speed of s = v/sqrt(2)
and traveling a distance of D = s x t = v²/ g

100 mph = 44.7 meters per second

D = v²/ g = [44.7 m/s]² / [1.62 m/s²] = 1235 meters