is there a powerful telescope enough to see the things left behind by the apollo missions on the moon?

Answer 1

I get asked a variation on this question frequently at open houses for my astronomical society - usually, folks ask specifically about seeing the flags on the Moon.

So I did the math based on "reasonable guesses" for the size of the flag and other parameters that weren't easily available.

To see the Apollo flags on the Moon from a ground based telescope, you'd need a telescope with a lens or mirror that was about 1300 feet in diameter. And you'd need a night with very still air. ("good seeing conditions")

If the scope was pointed at the horizon, it would be about as tall as the World Trade Center towers were. If it was pointed straight up it would probably be about a mile tall.

If the scope was based in space like the Hubble, it wouldn't need to be as large, but I doubt we'll be able to get a large enough scope launched in our lifetime.

Answer 2

No, there is no optical telescope in existance or planned that can do that. The Hubble Space Telescope was pointed at the moon to take some high resolution images of the surface, and the same was true of the 8-meter Gemini telescopes as well. Neither one did achieve enough resolution to locate the descent stages of the Apollo landers, but the Hubble did resolve features as small as 280 feet, despite it's and the Moon's orbital motion around the Earth. However, the descent stages have been photographed from lunar orbit by spacecraft equipped with cameras paired with a Cassegrain telescope. That is how Clementine and other spacecraft got those amazing detailed closeups of the Moon.

Answer 3

No telescope is big enough. The Hubble telescope has a 94 inch mirror which can resolve detail on the Moon down to about 300 feet wide. There are larger telescopes on the ground that in theory could see things smaller, if the unsteadiness of the atmosphere didn't interfere, but even the biggest would still be too small the see things as small as the flag or rover or LM decent stage on the Moon, even if it were above the atmosphere.

Resolving power is directly proportional to size. So if a 94 inch telescope can see 300 foot objects on the Moon, you would need a 9,400 inch telescope to resolve 3 foot objects on the Moon. That is far larger than any telescope ever made.

Answer 4

No, the artifacts left behind are too small to be resolved by the largest telescopes on Earth, or even the Hubble Space Telescope. The landing sites have been imaged by satellites orbiting the Moon.

Answer 5

Not yet. You'd need a mirror about the size of a football field for that.

Wait a couple of years - we'll be back.