'If' man has walked on the moon why can't you see all the stuff left on the surface with a good telescope?

Answer 1

You could, if you had a good enough telescope. But even Hubble's resolution is at least 100 times smaller than what it would need to be to see it. The objects left behind are very, very small (in telescope terms).

However, what they can do (and have been doing for 30 years now) is use a computer to point a laser at the moon to measure the distance. The astronauts left a laser reflector on the surface, and so a very powerful laser that's computer-controlled (to account for the simultaneous movement of the moon and the rotation of the earth) can measure the distance to the moon to within a few inches. That's how we know the moon is slowly receding (it's orbit is getting farther away).

Answer 2

Because no telescope is good enough. There is a formula which says the smallest detail any optically perfect telescope can see is limited by the diameter of that telescope's main lens or mirror. The formula says that you need a telescope with a main mirror HALF A MILE in diameter to see something as small as 1 foot wide on the Moon. That is 300 times as big as the Hubble Space Telescope.

Answer 3

OK, that sounds like a valid question. We know the moon is about 240,000 miles away. The way I do the math, if the largest objects left behind are 30 feet across, then you need a telescope that can see something 1/8 of a inch across - say, about the size of Lincoln's nose on a penny - from 90 miles away. You have a telescope capable of doing that?

Answer 4

It take about 5000 people to keep the 25000 scale map of the uk updated but it is still 5 years old when it is published. To find were someone walked on the moon would require 100,000 people working with extremely powerful telescopes and the job may take years. And what would it prove in the end - nothing.

Answer 5

in case you hadn't observed the huge shiny white element interior the night sky, the exterior of the moon already reflects mild quite lots, so the certainty that lots of the artefacts are shiny would not somewhat help lots in finding out on them out. The property you're searching for is a few metres during, and the moon is approximately 3,480,000 metres acoss. Do you extremely assume to have the potential to locate any of it? seem at Google maps and zoom in on some random spot in France until construction-sized gadgets are seen. Now, without using zoom, attempt and locate the Eiffel tower.

Answer 6

Because there is no telescope powerful enough to get that close!!! Do you realize the lenses that would be necessary to see that amount of detail on the moon's surface from this far away?

Answer 7

It is about 239,000 miles to the moon.
A high resolution telescope can resolve objects that are about 1/2 mile across. That means that if an object ("stuff left on the surface") is smaller than about 1/2 mile, you will not be able to see it even with the best telescope.

http://www.mikeoates.org/mas/projects/highres_lunar_imaging/home.htm
http://www.moontoday.net/news/viewpr.html?pid=21086

Answer 8

Its not as big as the Great Wall of China and thats the only man made thing visible from space. Sometimes you can't spot a needle in a haystack either, doesn't mean its not there.
Allow me to clarify, I mean from the moon, with a telescope, not the naked eye from outer space.

Answer 9

sounds like conspiracy theory bunk.
You have two choices.
1. Study engineering and physics, and then learn to calculate what and what you cannot see with a telescope yourself.
2. Believe what other people tell you.

Your choice.

Most people just believe what they want to believe. And frankly- it's a lot more fun to believe conspiracy theories than that men actually walked on the moon. Heck- we americans even took a car there and drove it around. (we take our cars everywhere)

Answer 10

Everything is still there. You can't because all conspiration theory farts do not want to put up the money for the telescope because they will have to shut up.

If there is not a telescope that make it possible put the money up to build one that does it.

Of course, all these conspirations types are losers and do not have a cent to spare in particular if they make it through the divulgation of conspiration theories.