My cousin in Denver said something about the moon landing that actually made me pause

We were at a family cookout last weekend and he mentioned the shadows in the Apollo photos. He said, 'If the sun is the only light, how come the shadows aren't parallel?' I always brushed that off as dumb, but he showed me a specific photo from the mission. I couldn't explain it right then. Has anyone got a solid, simple answer for that shadow thing?

3 comments

3 Comments

sethc123mo ago

I saw a breakdown on a science blog once. It's because the moon's surface isn't flat, it's all hills and craters. That makes shadows go different ways even with one light source.

the_ryan1mo ago

Ha, jokes on me I guess. I've definitely stared at a picture of the moon before and been like, "Wait, is NASA just messing with us?

kim.sandra3mo ago

Makes sense, that explains a lot.