Myth Busters Busts Moon Landing “Troofers”

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1. paul_in_houston

   July 21st, 2009 at 10:36 am

   1

   40 years ago, on July 20, 1969 an American set foot on another world.

   Science fiction had long predicted it, but I don’t recall it ever predicting that we would go (multiple times), get bored, and never go back.

   In 1972, I had the unforgettable privilege of watching the liftoffs of Apollo 16 and Apollo 17 from a bit over 12 miles away on the beach at Titusville, Florida.

   At that distance the curvature of the Earth would have cut off a portion, except for the fact that the launch pad is placed on top of a ramp that rises about four stories and the pad itself probably adds another 10 feet or so, making the whole thing visible.

   Hold your thumb and forefinger a few millimeters (or 1/8th of an inch) apart, at arms length and imagine a skinny white splinter held vertically between them. That’s what a Saturn V looks like at that distance to the naked eye. A pair of 7×50 binoculars, or a 300 mm telephoto lens, does a decent job of showing it.

   When it fires up, it takes a full minute for the sound to reach you, and it’s a low-pitched rumble that is felt as well as heard.

   Something I’ll remember ’til the day I die.

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