In a previous post we mentioned the movie "Destination Moon" and the selection of landing site for the spacecraft and the paintings of Chesley Knight Bonestell,Jr..
The landing site was far enough north that a view of Earth would be low enough on the horizon for a camera to see it in the same shot as the horizon.
Bonestell had been concerned that his painting of the Moon might have shown an unrealistic rendering of the lunar surface with too many cracks.
Before we actually went to the Moon with orbiters, landers, and humans, there had been much speculation about what we would actually find.
Rocky mountains, and dust bowls that would swallow us up. or maybe volcanic action and lava beds with lava tubes.
And then you might want to practice for a landing you had never done before.
There is still much to learn.
Ron sent me some information about our cracked lunar surface which you can read below.
- LRK -
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Harpalus is a young lunar impact crater that lies on the Mare Frigoris, at the eastern edge of the Sinus Roris. To the southeast at the edge of the mare is the small crater Foucault, and to the northwest on the opposite edge is the walled plain named South.
The rim of Harpalus is sharp-edged with little sign of wear or erosion. The wall is not perfectly circular, and has a few outward notches and protrusions, especially along the eastern half. It is surrounded by an outer rampart of ejecta, most notably towards the north, and is at the center of a small ray system. Due to its rays, Harpalus is mapped as part of the Copernican System.[1]
The inner surface is terraced, and flows down to the floor. The interior wall is the least wide along the northern face, making the floor slightly offset in that direction. Near the midpoint is a system of low central ridges.
The rim of Harpalus is sharp-edged with little sign of wear or erosion. The wall is not perfectly circular, and has a few outward notches and protrusions, especially along the eastern half. It is surrounded by an outer rampart of ejecta, most notably towards the north, and is at the center of a small ray system. Due to its rays, Harpalus is mapped as part of the Copernican System.[1]
The inner surface is terraced, and flows down to the floor. The interior wall is the least wide along the northern face, making the floor slightly offset in that direction. Near the midpoint is a system of low central ridges.
Popular culture references
Harpalus was the rocket landing site in the 1950s science fiction film Destination Moon. It was chosen by artist Chesley Bonestell as it had a relatively high latitude and the Earth could be realistically displayed at a low altitude during camera shots. However, the resulting clay model depicted crazing (net-like cracks) across the crater floor, an addition to which Bonestell objected.
snip
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Here is what Ron sent me. Enjoy.
- LRK -
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Date:: Mon, 16 Nov 2015 02:19:31 -0500
Subject:: Bonestell's Cracked Lava Surface is REAL!!
At 01:06 AM 11/16/2015, you wrote:
The net-like cracks in the floor of Harpalus that Bonestell objected to, and many, many frequent critics also later objected to are actually on the Moon.
- ... However, the resulting clay model
- depicted crazing < http://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/Crazing> (net-like cracks) - across the crater floor, an addition to which Bonestell objected.
- snip
But John Archer of the Movie said that the "cracked lava" lunar surface looks nothing like the surface of the Moon. And Bonestell, himself, after the 1969 landing said in reference to the cracked surface: "I tried to make it just as dramatic as I could, and, as a result, it looks ridiculous now. The Moon looks nothing like that".
However, as many of us have pointed out, there are millions and millions of square miles of unexplored territory on the Moon, almost all of which have at least been photographed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Consequently, the "rush to judgment" of many critics having seen only a small part of the lunar surface has, like everything else, failed to be true.
Here is a shot of the lunar surface from LRO, both photo (M110919730L) and its context location are given (see URL). The photo was taken on the inside of Giordano Bruno crater, and Bruno was burned at the stake! Both locality and namesake therefore meeting a fiery end!
It looks like Bonestell should be completely rehabilitated and given a pardon by many critics, who perhaps are more deserving of Bruno's ending than Bruno himself!
Ron
P.S.: The full URL with Bruno context photo is:
http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/posts/297
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A bit more that Ron noted. If you have a pair of those Anaglyph 3D glasses. ( red-cyan (or red-blue) for viewing, you may want to down load the file.
- LRK -
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... Bonestell did great work. I have his "Conquest of Space" litho framed on my wall. I always thought the cleverest thing he did in "Destination Moon" was to make the landing site in Harpalus so that the Earth would appear above the horizon. Had any other Hollywood-type person chosen a site near the equator, the Earth would never have been visible to that camera they had because it could not tilt to a high enough angle. The Earth always appears at the same spot in the lunar sky, apart from a small wobble around the spot, which most people don't realize. At the equator, it is directly overhead. At the poles, you can't see it since it would be below the horizon (unless you stepped away from the exact pole far enough, then you might see the limb, or a larger part of the Earth). Etc.
One sees shots of Taurus-Littrow Valley where Apollo 17 landed, and some artist always sticks an overblown Earth above the mountains. Never can happen. The Earth is too high in the sky there to be seen in conjunction with the horizon. That's why Gene had to squat on bent knees when he took that picture of Jack Schmitt with the flagpole hanger pointing to the Earth (see fig. 58, p. 217, the last Figure in the Apollo 17 section in my 3D book-- you may not have the most recent edition as I have added a dozen of so more photos to the Apollo 17 section--see download URL immediately below).
One sees shots of Taurus-Littrow Valley where Apollo 17 landed, and some artist always sticks an overblown Earth above the mountains. Never can happen. The Earth is too high in the sky there to be seen in conjunction with the horizon. That's why Gene had to squat on bent knees when he took that picture of Jack Schmitt with the flagpole hanger pointing to the Earth (see fig. 58, p. 217, the last Figure in the Apollo 17 section in my 3D book-- you may not have the most recent edition as I have added a dozen of so more photos to the Apollo 17 section--see download URL immediately below).
Ron
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Thanks for looking up with me,
- LRK -
Web Site: http://lkellogg.vttoth.
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A Portfolio of Lunar Drawings
Harold Hill: A Portfolio of Lunar Drawings (1991)(glossary entry)
A collection of meticulous drawings and notes of selected small regions of the Moon, by British amateur Harold Hill.
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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WHAT THE MIND CAN CONCEIVE, AND BELIEVE, IT WILL ACHIEVE - LRK -
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