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@Earthslide:
I doubt they were able to get that sort of resolution. The flag would be pretty damn tiny. Reply
I doubt they were able to get that sort of resolution. The flag would be pretty damn tiny. Reply
@DisposableInterloper: I don't know about that, seems like a reasonable feat. I mean we have satellites orbiting around out that can make out a person.
Also, most satellites are about an eleventh of the distance from the earths surface as the moon. So, I'm also willing to bet that our own satellites in the earths orbit could get a pretty close view.
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@shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog ★★★...: I guess I was wrong about orbiting telescopes over earth, but still, didn't seem unreasonable.
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@shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog ★★★...: Finally, apparently those are DOD satellites only, so, we'll just move along.
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@DisposableInterloper:
Finding the flag? Probably not. Finding the leftover bottom of the landers, rovers, and other big stuff still there? It'll be there. Reply
Finding the flag? Probably not. Finding the leftover bottom of the landers, rovers, and other big stuff still there? It'll be there. Reply
@shamoononon:
I don't deny that it's possible to find the flag, but don't forget that this was a project to map the moon, not zoom in with a spy camera and find a wee little flag. I doubt they'd even be able to pick out the impact site of the Luna 2 probe. Reply
I don't deny that it's possible to find the flag, but don't forget that this was a project to map the moon, not zoom in with a spy camera and find a wee little flag. I doubt they'd even be able to pick out the impact site of the Luna 2 probe. Reply
@DisposableInterloper: Yes, I agree... and then there is the fact, is it still even there?
Also, the Chinese have a tendency to embellish.
No pointing fingers here!
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@jeembomb:
If the Chinese had good enough optics and scanned the moon diligently enough, perhaps. If this was just a quick flyby of the Moon with a fancy camera, I doubt it. Reply
If the Chinese had good enough optics and scanned the moon diligently enough, perhaps. If this was just a quick flyby of the Moon with a fancy camera, I doubt it. Reply
@shamoononon has a hebetudinous dog ★★★...: From what I understand, no, the flag is no longer there. The flag was made from normal "Earth" material. The intense radiation/light it has been exposed to since it was put there in an environment with no atmosphere will have broken down the flag by now. Most other things should still be there as they were not simple fabric.
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@Earthslide: Don't be a dick.
It's not an achievement because the almighty USA already got there once before?
It's still a big deal when ever anyone climbs Everest.
It's not an achievement because the almighty USA already got there once before?
It's still a big deal when ever anyone climbs Everest.
Again, don't be a dick.
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@Git Em SteveDave:
No atmosphere and constant irradiation yields no biodegradation, and save a freak meteorite, there's pretty much nothing to physically agitate the flag there. I'd say it's quite likely to still be there. Maybe it got bleached out, maybe the material has gotten very frail, but it's very likely still there.
No atmosphere and constant irradiation yields no biodegradation, and save a freak meteorite, there's pretty much nothing to physically agitate the flag there. I'd say it's quite likely to still be there. Maybe it got bleached out, maybe the material has gotten very frail, but it's very likely still there.
If nothing else, there should still be a flag post where the flag once was.
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@reckless_inoz:
How the hell is wondering if a the Chinese spotted the US flag tantamount to being a dick? Reply
How the hell is wondering if a the Chinese spotted the US flag tantamount to being a dick? Reply
@DisposableInterloper: I heard this on NPR or one of the Sci-Am podcasts. It might have even been Phil Plait they were talking to. But the flag was a nylon flag. The only special thing done to it was sewing a pocket for the rod which kept it outstretched. And with the solar wind and all the radiation and charged particles, it will more than likely degrade, and not BIO-degrade as the flag has no biological material. Nylon flags bleach out pretty quickly in normal sunlight, and I think we have seen what leaving plastic out in the sun for long periods of times does to it. If anyone has any evidence either way, I'm open to hear it.
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@elvisml2: So on re-reading your comment, I feel like a dick.
I thought you were just unsubtly reminding us that the US made it to the moon years ago.
My bad Reply
I thought you were just unsubtly reminding us that the US made it to the moon years ago.
My bad Reply
@Git Em SteveDave:
I thought it was cotton, my bad.
I thought it was cotton, my bad.
In any event, there's still nothing physically agitating the flag what with no atmosphere on the moon, so even if the nylon has degraded, the flag might still be sitting where it is. Not saying it is there, just that it might be there.
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@zchen - lawlaw beklog oO: First, LOLz at that. Second, damn good question. I've yet to see the flag verified from a second source. Links welcome.
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@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->: Then Obama's new American Science Extravaganza better make us a better friggin' flag.
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