- Part 1 - Part 2 -
Even schoolchildren know the main oddities of our satellite, the Moon. Little-known facts were discussed in the previous parts of this column. Let me remind you of one of them: the librations of the Moon. This is the wobble of the satellite axis while moving around the Earth.
This fact explains the observations of amateur astronomers, when they, taking photographs of the moon in different months, but in the same phases, noticed it. The moon "dived" first forward, then backward. They showed this clearly in their photographs and videos.
There is a very detailed interactive map of the Moon - made in the style of Google maps, but with a higher resolution than there. In this map, the Moon with a resolution of up to 0.5 m per pixel: link.
Of course, not all of the lunar surface is represented at this resolution.
Assignment to readers: find in it the landing sites of the Apollo spacecraft. If you find it, drop the links in the comments.
Promotional video:
Looked at the moonlit seas. Which are dark on its visible side. The very bright, highly reflective rock in craters (or hills) and on the surface seemed strange. What is this, another breed, with super-strong light reflection, sprinkled with moon dust? If it is just sunlight reflected from the walls of the craters, then it should be from only one side of the crater. And, it turns out, the crater reflects the entire inner cone.
Let's move on to another interesting place on the lunar surface:
This is a rift. But contrary to the theory of probability, large meteorites fell in a chain in it - they fell exactly along its channel (canyon). How is this possible? But when you get closer to the surface, you increase the detail (second slide), you see even more strangeness. These are not hills, as many might think (illusion of perception). These are precisely craters. This is proved by the stones that have rolled into these craters (third slide).
Moving (or rolling) rocks are also found on the slopes of another crater. Question: does a moonquake occur on the moon from the fall of meteorites, that the stones roll? Or does the moonquake happen for another reason? In any case, the fact is interesting and I have not heard about it to be said.
Not so long ago, one of the readers sent his observations, which say that the Moon is closer than the astronomical data.
Schematic construction for clarity.
Between St. Petersburg and Blagoveshchensk 5700 km in a straight line. At one time, two observers in these cities, taking a compass in hand, measure the azimuth to the moon. Applying geometry at two corners and a side - build a triangle! We get the distance to the moon from two cities! He and a friend made a measurement: St. Petersburg-Blagoveshchensk-Luna, we got the distance Blagoveshchensk-Moon = 50,000 km, St. Petersburg-Luna = 48,000 km!
Of course, we can say that the distance between cities is not in a straight line, but in an arc. But such a big mistake cannot happen! We know from astronomy that the distance between the Earth and the Moon is about 380 thousand km. And it turns out 8 times less !?
If you have acquaintances in cities far apart from each other, check it out.
Continued: Part 3 - Lightning on the Moon
Author: sibved