Moon physics ?

Could someone help me understand conditions on the moon?

Watching some clips on YouTube and I was puzzled by the movements of the astronauts as the bounced, skipped and waddled across the lunar surface. The available footage all seem to portray things 'slowed down' due to being on the moon. But depending on the clip, some are sped up and others are slowed down ?

Surely if there is minimal atmosphere their actions would less restricted due the loss of friction and so be strangely zippy? Other things such as the golf ball should fall slightly slower due to less gravity, but zoom off on a super flat trajectory due to less atmosphere?

I personally think they did go to the moon....BUT the majority of the shown footage/pics were shot on earth as some sort of plan B and as time went on the plan became glaringly obvious? Hence the discomfort of Armstrong & Aldrin when pressed on the matter, they know there were there and the knew the official pics etc were dodgy?

reply to post by Tie No Bows!


Hmm, care to post the videos in question so we can examine them?

As for the moon.....

Lower gravity, the suits they are in are pressurized and it's rather difficult to bend and move, hence the hopping and weird motions. This also explains the video showing an astronaut who had tripped, springing up quickly, leading some to say he's on a wire, it's merely the suit snapping back into shape because of the pressure.

Other things such as the golf ball should fall slightly slower due to less gravity, but zoom off on a super flat trajectory due to less atmosphere?

Well, lower gravity, no atmosphere, you hit that ball hard enough and you could actually send it out into space, no mystery there. Because of the lower gravity, and no atmosphere, you can impart more force on the ball, and this force is enough to negate the gravitational pull we expect on earth.

When you throw a ball on earth, it takes a ballistic course, from the angle you fired at it moves, well tries to move, in a straight line. because of the mass of the earth, gravity tugs at it, the ball starts to arch and come back down. As the forward force losing power the gravitational force takes over.

I believe the moon has about 17% the force of gravity compared to earth, so on the moon, tossing that same ball potentially means it's going to travel 82% farther out before gravity starts to pull it back in. Since there is no air, there is no friction, the only force at work would be the gravity of the moon, so there's nothing actually slowing the forward momentum down except the gravity of the moon, unlike earth where the air is actually causing friction and slowing the object down over time as to reduce the forward momentum enough that it can no longer counter act gravity.

high school physics is kewl







Moon and Gravity

Another factor is that inertia and momentum are the result of an object's mass, which remains the same irrespective of gravity. Although things are easier to lift on the Moon (due to the reduced downward force of gravity) they are just as difficult to move or to stop (due to their constant mass). This is why things appear to fall more slowly, but their horizontal movement seems to be about the same as one would expect on Earth. If you speed videos of the lunar astronauts up so that they bounce at an earth-like speed, their arms flail about comically.

reply to post by DJW001

If you speed videos of the lunar astronauts up so that they bounce at an earth-like speed, their arms flail about comically.

Yes but the no-mooners (i just trademarked that) would have us believe all footage was shot on earth, in normal gravity, and slowed down to give the illusion of reduced gravity.

Oh, and the moon is made of cheese.

They never went to the moon, and stopped the pretence once the amatuer astronomers were able to see for themselves that no such event was taking place.

The moon doesn't rotate either. 'They' claim that it rotates at virtually exactly the same speed as it orbits earth - thats why we only ever see one side of it. what a remarkable coincidence!

I was referring to just about all the available video with regard to speed etc, just looks wierd, something not quite right! I've always been puzzled with the standard 'earth rise' pic too, the look of the moon in the pic looks like something pasted from another pic of the earth in orbit? OK, ok...I know its a different colour, but any art student will tell you that there is no such thing as one constant colour (grey) in a landscape, and Im sorry but B&W is not colour.

The moons orbit is whole new subject of its own, apparently it rings like a bell so it could be either hollow or a solid metal lump? How it maintains a regular rotation with no obvious reason is a puzzle, earth has it captured by gravity, maybe theres a process there that imparts the same rotation as our rate of monthly orbit IDK....

I really would like certain elements of pics/vids finished once and for all and not by MythBusters either! take the shot where something flies over the lunar surface as the main body of Apollo flies past, ok so we dont know what that is, but people keep pointing out that large rotating assembly on the side of the craft as if theres something dodgy going on, someone must know what that is for sure? Picnic basket? outboard motor? what???

Nice to see this hasnt gone nasty just for asking though, soon as thats gone...Im gone too!

reply to post by Tie No Bows!

I really would like certain elements of pics/vids finished once and for all and not by MythBusters either! take the shot where something flies over the lunar surface as the main body of Apollo flies past, ok so we dont know what that is, but people keep pointing out that large rotating assembly on the side of the craft as if theres something dodgy going on, someone must know what that is for sure?

Why not post a link to the video so we know what you're talking about.

The moon in simple description: Is much smaller than our Earth. Which means a much lower gravity. That may be what you are referring to. If not, you must take into consideration that it is still a vacuum on the lunar surface. There is no atmosphere. Imagine an average day, with less gravity, a heavy suit and inside a vacuum.