Offline jimster

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knowing the distance to the moon
« on: April 10, 2019, 10:11:09 PM »
There are several ways to measure the lunar distance, for instance using the radius of the earth and measuring the lunar eclipse, Greek astronomer and mathematician Aristarchus of Samos in the 4th century BC and later by Hipparchus, whose calculations produced a result of 233000–265000 mi. Also parallax, meridian crossing, and occultations.

By recording the instant when the Moon occults a background star, (or similarly, measuring the angle between the moon and a background star at a predetermined moment) the lunar distance can be determined, as long as the measurements are taken from multiple locations of known separation. Notice this depends on the star being behind and much farther away.

In 1950, it became possible to bounce a radio signal off the moon. Governments, scientists, and amateur radio operators have bounced radio waves off the moon and timed the return Given the speed of light.

More recently, a laser was bounced off the moon and the distance calculated by the speed of light.

Should I conclude the moon is about 238,000 mi away, as determined by these several methods?
I am really curious about so many FE things, like how at sunset in Denver, people in St Louis see the dome as dark with stars, while people in Salt Lake City see the same dome as light blue. FE scientists don't know or won't tell me.

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Offline Tumeni

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Re: knowing the distance to the moon
« Reply #1 on: April 10, 2019, 10:17:44 PM »
The USA, Russia, India, Japan, China, and most recently Israel, have all sent craft to or around the Moon.

If the generally-accepted distance of around 240k miles was incorrect, someone would have noticed by now.

You can safely assume it is correct.
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Not Flat. Happy to prove this, if you ask me.
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Nearly all flat earthers agree the earth is not a globe.

Nearly?