Some proof The Moon is not it's Own Light Source

Jared

New Member
A claim I see popping up more and more among the Flat Earth community is that the moon is self-illuminating, a separate light source from the sun.

This notion is fairly simple to debunk.

For reference, I have provided an example of an internally lit globe of the moon from an article I read on Space.com.


(photo Space.com)

In the photo, you'll see that the light is evenly distributed, and while there is discoloration due darker resins for contrast, there are no shadows anywhere on the surface, and that the lighting is evenly distributed, much like a dimmer sun.

You can try casting shadows with a brighter, outside light source, but at best, the shadows would be diffused by the internal lighting provided by the globe.

With regard to the actual moon, the first spacecraft to take a picture of the moon was Ranger 7. The details shown within the craters along and near the moon's terminator are inconsistent with any object that would provide its own light source.


(photo Nasa.gov)

The shadows casted within the craters are due to the crater walls exceeding the height of sun in the lunar sky, and just as shadows fall on Earth as the sun dips below both man made and natural objects, the moon follows suit.

This can be simply demonstrated with a non-illuminated relief globe of the moon.


(photo Kickstarter.com)

The effect we're seeing here from an outside light source is consistent with the sun's light on the moon.
 
Also, why is the dark side.. dark? What turns the light on and off during a moon cycle? Elves?
So, it is obvious that the light comes from the sun.
Here are two questions that will come up:

Why, if the moon and sun are in the sky at the same time, does the moon shiny side appear to NOT point at the sun exactly? (as in https://physics.stackexchange.com/q...-appear-not-to-line-up-correctly-with-the-eve )

Is it correct to say that when the crescent of the moon is visible you can read the time at night by how it is pointing? If the sun sets, and the moon is at its left, the moons bright side will be pointing to the right. During the night, it will point down, then to the left, at sunrise? Well, not all of it, off course, but as long as it is above the horizon, can you guesstimate what time it is that way? Or is this a totally bogus thought.
 
Also, why is the dark side.. dark? What turns the light on and off during a moon cycle? Elves?
So, it is obvious that the light comes from the sun.
Here are two questions that will come up:

Why, if the moon and sun are in the sky at the same time, does the moon shiny side appear to NOT point at the sun exactly? (as in https://physics.stackexchange.com/q...-appear-not-to-line-up-correctly-with-the-eve )

Is it correct to say that when the crescent of the moon is visible you can read the time at night by how it is pointing? If the sun sets, and the moon is at its left, the moons bright side will be pointing to the right. During the night, it will point down, then to the left, at sunrise? Well, not all of it, off course, but as long as it is above the horizon, can you guesstimate what time it is that way? Or is this a totally bogus thought.
The problem is that the moon is not visible all night except for a FULL moon. When you see a crescent moon in the evening it indeed more or less "points" at the direction where the sun has just disappeared under the horizon. But soon after that it follows the sun and will also set and your "clock"is gone.
About the orientation of the shiny side of the moon we had an extensive thread here, it is called the terminator illusion (or paradox):https://www.metabunk.org/the-moon-tilt-terminator-illusions.t8165/page-2#post-205440
 
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