Slashdot Mirror


Google Moon Debuts

Ian writes "From the FAQ: 'One small step for Google... On July 20, 1969, man first landed on the Moon. A few decades later, we're pleased to cut you in on the action. Google Moon is an extension of Google Maps and Google Earth that, courtesy of NASA imagery (thanks, guys!), enables you to surf the Moon's surface and check out the exact spots that the Apollo astronauts made their landings.'"

462 comments

  1. Conspiracy! by Slartibartfast · · Score: 5, Funny

    If you zoom in to maximum resolution, you'll find "proof" we never landed there. ;-)

    1. Re:Conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If we didn't land there then how do we know the moon is made of cheese?

    2. Re:Conspiracy! by telecsan · · Score: 1

      Nah, the real conspiracy is that the US govt is hoarding all the swiss cheese for themselves.

    3. Re:Conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      And if you zoom all the way out you'll see the blatant proof that the moon is a godless, souless, monotonous place devoid of imagination.

    4. Re:Conspiracy! by kcelery · · Score: 0

      zoom the other way to the minimum resolution, you'll see something like a hollywood scene backdrop, umm ... looks curious

    5. Re:Conspiracy! by DenDave · · Score: 0

      No shit eh! So the dang thing is made of cheese!!

      On a more serious note, does anyone know of any images taken of the moon showing landers on the surface?

      --
      -if at first you don't succeed, stay the heck away from paragliding.
    6. Re:Conspiracy! by JasonBee · · Score: 1

      Ha ha!

      I zoomed in first thing to see how detailed the images were and lo and behold...

      So where are all the mice?

    7. Re:Conspiracy! by wpiman · · Score: 2, Funny

      What I want to know is how the Swiss got their first?

    8. Re:Conspiracy! by spot35 · · Score: 2, Informative

      unfortunately, current telescopes don't have the resolution to view the landers. Newer crops of space born telescopes should be able to view them.

      This link seems to provide some information on a probe that the ESA launched. Unfortunately, the images from the flybys have not been released. From linked article of why hubble cannot view the landers - "Anything left on the Moon cannot be resolved in any Hubble image," According to the Space Telescope Science Institute, which operates Hubble for NASA. "It would just appear as a dot."

      I'm sure I've read about newer telescopes that will be able to resolve the landers. Can't find the articles now though.

    9. Re:Conspiracy! by yobbo · · Score: 1

      I thought Adam Selene was up to his old tricks again, trying to stop us from finding that damned catapult!

    10. Re:Conspiracy! by rhaig · · Score: 1

      I'd ask STR? but in this crowd, probably 80% of us have read that one.

      TANSTAAFL!

      --
      "We are not tolerant people. We prefer drastically effective solutions"
    11. Re:Conspiracy! by The+Other+White+Boy · · Score: 5, Informative

      i hope this doesn't break this site, because it doesn't belong to me.

      Exploring the Apollo Landing Sites

      lets you click thru pictures to zoom in farther and farther, using pics from earth- and orbit-based telescopes, as well as photos from the orbiters and command modules.

      some are good enough resolution that you can see the lander, albeit barely. you can see the rover tracks in all of them though.

    12. Re:Conspiracy! by jonwil · · Score: 1

      Would there not be images of either landers that have landed and left or of landers still on the moon taken from lunar orbit by the apollo crews?
      The later apollo missions landed with pinpoint accuracy and the Command Module Pilots were able to see the landers from space so there would be pictures of them somewhere one would think.

    13. Re:Conspiracy! by Megane · · Score: 1
      Actually if you zoom in close enough, you find that the moon is indeed made of cheese.

      It's all a cover-up, I tell you! Everybody knows the moon is made of green cheese!

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    14. Re:Conspiracy! by DrEldarion · · Score: 2, Funny

      Oh, stop being such a tinfoil-hat. The FDA determined that the cheese, being covered in all sorts of different green space molds, was unfit for human consumption.

    15. Re:Conspiracy! by Smidge204 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Except that wit the resolution of any of the cameras currently available, objects like the lander and rover would be less than pixel wide. IE: Basicaly invisible.

      So unless you have the cash to move one of those secret spy satellites from earth or lunar orbit (Because they are too far away if left in earth orbit), the only way you're going to see them is to go land on the moon again.
      =Smidge=

    16. Re:Conspiracy! by The+Patient · · Score: 5, Funny

      Probably the same way many of us in other countries did: an opportune moment arose (!) while we were over at our girlfriend's house and her parents were away.

    17. Re:Conspiracy! by jtwJGuevara · · Score: 1

      I was about to forward this news to a friend of mine who is very big into astronomy and space travel. Good thing I checked zooming all the way in first to discover what they would have really found if they went exploring.

      Of course, this same friend is also a cheese lover, so maybe I will still send it to her :)

    18. Re:Conspiracy! by JFitzsimmons · · Score: 1

      I for one thought that was a pretty good joke. I have a distinct lack of mod points though. :(

      --
      Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master. -Anonymous
    19. Re:Conspiracy! by Martin+Blank · · Score: 1

      I thought Hubble couldn't look at the moon because of potential damage to the equipment. Incorrect?

      --
      You can never go home again... but I guess you can shop there.
    20. Re:Conspiracy! by bioglaze · · Score: 1

      So did i, until i lolled :)

      --
      Who is John Galt?
    21. Re:Conspiracy! by SlayerofGods · · Score: 1
      Which ones exactly?
      Because from the front page of the site.
      While you can't see any of the hardware left on the Moon (seeing one of the lunar rovers from Earth would be like trying to see a grain of sand on a beach while flying high overhead in a jet airliner
      --

      Technology, the cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
    22. Re:Conspiracy! by Jaseoldboss · · Score: 2, Informative

      It probably can't but for those who get the NASA science newsletter they covered this a couple of weeks ago.

      "the smallest things Hubble can distinguish are about 60 meters wide. The biggest piece of left-behind Apollo equipment is only 9 meters across and thus smaller than a single pixel in a Hubble image."

      http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2005/11jul_lroc .htm?list154599

    23. Re:Conspiracy! by spot35 · · Score: 1

      This is the exact article I was aluding to in my post. Thank you.

    24. Re:Conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Where are all the moon-maidens????

    25. Re:Conspiracy! by trentblase · · Score: 1

      No deal McCutcheon, that moon money is mine!

    26. Re:Conspiracy! by bdeclerc · · Score: 1

      Actually, this is incorrect:
      http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/ releases/1999/14/

      Hubble doesn't usually image the moon because imaging time is spent better on other targets.

      It is true that it can't image the sun for fear of damaging the internal stuff, but then the sun is much, much, much brighter than the moon.

    27. Re:Conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Rover track for 11 and 12? I don't think that Rovers appeared until 14.

    28. Re:Conspiracy! by jgbishop · · Score: 1

      Given these new close-up images, I wonder if anyone will be able to find where Wallace and Gromit landed...

      --
      Go, and never darken my towels again! -- Rufus
    29. Re:Conspiracy! by brianopp · · Score: 1

      i hope that it is a better resolution then the fully zoomed images on Google Moon

    30. Re:Conspiracy! by uberdave · · Score: 4, Informative

      You could also point a laser at the moon and see if you get a reflection back. A few of the Apollo missions left retroreflectors on the lunar surface.

    31. Re:Conspiracy! by iShaman · · Score: 0



      I thought Google Maps already linked to all the moon landing sites HERE!

    32. Re:Conspiracy! by Surr3al · · Score: 1

      So unless you have the cash to move one of those secret spy satellites from earth or lunar orbit (Because they are too far away if left in earth orbit), the only way you're going to see them is to go land on the moon again.

      These pictures were in fact taken from lunar orbit. So, maybe it's not such a hoax afterall.

    33. Re:Conspiracy! by Chuckstar · · Score: 1
      You can see neither the lander nor the rover tracks.

      Oh, except in the photos where the site creators drew in the tracks using photoshop or something.

    34. Re:Conspiracy! by loose_cannon_gamer · · Score: 1
      In a similar vein, it turns out that if you zoom out all the way, the moon is actually a two dimensional plane extending infinitely in the horizontal direction (as viewed from google mapping), with infinite repetition. It is, however, of finite vertical height...

      Presumably, therefore, the moon is actually

      1. The used toilet paper of the universe

      2. The used toilet paper roll of the universe (presuming the infinite repetition is due to the edges being connected)

      3. The Creator's own mobius strip project

      In any case, this is newsworthy!

      --
      In Soviet Russia, us are belong to all your base.
    35. Re:Conspiracy! by The+Other+White+Boy · · Score: 1

      that blurb refers to backyard telescopy. the Apollo 17 lander and its shadow are visible in this shot:

      http://www.boulder.swri.edu/~durda/Apollo/ls_17_ 5aa.html

    36. Re:Conspiracy! by fracai · · Score: 1

      hmm, I hope not. looks to me like the shadows are going opposite directions...

      they're not implying that all the other shadows are craters and not hills are they? :shifty eyes engaged:

      --
      -- i am jack's amusing sig file
    37. Re:Conspiracy! by fracai · · Score: 1

      yeah, zooming out shows that they're craters

      but I'm still keeping my shifty eyes on...they're just too much fun

      --
      -- i am jack's amusing sig file
    38. Re:Conspiracy! by KH2002 · · Score: 1

      The first lunar rover was on Apollo 15 in 1971.

    39. Re:Conspiracy! by AhtirTano · · Score: 2, Funny

      The pictures are obviously faked--you can't see any whalers anywhere.

    40. Re:Conspiracy! by rilister · · Score: 1

      Can anyone tell me why all the lander sites are all so geographically close? Or is it at huge scale? Or are Google just goofing around?

      --
      'This writing business. Pencils and what-not. Over-rated if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it' - Eeyore
    41. Re:Conspiracy! by jonbryce · · Score: 1

      The moon always shows the same face to the earth so presumably that is what is closest to earth.

    42. Re:Conspiracy! by zedmelon · · Score: 1
      ...so maybe I will still send it to her

      ...and now we know you're part of the consipiracy too.

      --
      Mom says my .sig can beat up your .sig.
    43. Re:Conspiracy! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      NO!!! The moon is made of American cheese (to quote Astronaut Michael Collins!)

    44. Re:Conspiracy! by iamlucky13 · · Score: 3, Funny

      I sure hope you can't see the rover tracks in all of them. If I remember correctly, Apollo 15 was the first mission to carry a rover. This is just proof that the moon landing was a conspiracy and the tracks must be from trucks hauling all the camera and sound gear, the "astronauts," and the fake landers to the "landing site."

      You'd think they would've at least been smart enough to scatter the tracks with a broom so those in the tin-foil hat mafia with nice telescopes wouldn't be able to unravel the mystery so easily.

    45. Re:Conspiracy! by tmortn · · Score: 1

      Eh the appollo 17 stuff has the lunar module when zoomed in. The tracks are additions to the shot. You see the lander more by its shadow (perhaps 3 pixels) and like one lighter shade pixel than the rest.

      --
      I don't ask you to be me. I only ask you not expect me to be you.
    46. Re:Conspiracy! by NuclearDog · · Score: 2, Insightful

      It's shit like that that makes me love Google.

      If someone is going to take over the internet, I'd definitely rather it be Google. At least they have a sense of humour.

      ND

      --
      This statement is forty-five characters long.
    47. Re:Conspiracy! by Hell+O'World · · Score: 1

      that is what is closest to earth.
      If you mean "...so that would be the shortest trip", I can't agree, because the lunar landing missions always included a lunar orbiter that they had to meet back up with after they had been on the surface. They always looped around the back on those missions. But perhaps the earth side would be the best for maintaining radio contact?

    48. Re:Conspiracy! by booch · · Score: 1

      I noticed that too. I think it's evidence that the moon landing was faked. They didn't even bother generating fake scenery of the whole moon surface.

      --
      Software sucks. Open Source sucks less.
    49. Re:Conspiracy! by recursiv · · Score: 1
      --
      I used to bulls-eye womp-rats in my pants
    50. Re:Conspiracy! by empaler · · Score: 1

      That's why it's only allowed on cheeseburgers...

    51. Re:Conspiracy! by Tantrum420 · · Score: 1

      Yeah.... But it's a helluva trip.

      The FDA doesn't like us eating certain types of fungus, either.

      T

    52. Re:Conspiracy! by wwphx · · Score: 1

      Actually, my wife is working at an observatory where they are getting ready to shoot another laser at it. The observatory is Apache Point. They've gotten first light through the detector but have not yet fired the laser outside of the dome.

      Click on the APOLLO Project link.

      The principle is simple: shoot the laser into the secondary, it bounces off the primary and a 3.5 meter beam heads off at the speed of light. Half a million miles later, it's theoretically detected.

      I'm looking forward to seeing it in action!

      --
      When you sympathize with stupidity, you start thinking like an idiot.
    53. Re:Conspiracy! by houghi · · Score: 1

      Exploring the Apollo Landing Sites

      It has been heard: Space mission to photograph Apollo landing sites

      --
      Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
    54. Re:Conspiracy! by Horizon_99 · · Score: 1


      Can you see the flag or other objects left behind on the moon from the Apollo missions?


      Unfortunately the answer to this question is no. Not even the most powerful telescopes ever made are able to see these objects. The flag on the moon is 125cm (4 feet) long. You would require a telescope around 200 meters in diameter to see it. The largest telescope now is the Keck Telescope in Hawaii at 10meters in diameter. Even the Hubble Space telescope is only 2.4 meters in diameter. Resolving the lunar rover, which is 3.1 meters in length, would require a telescope 75 meters in diameter. So our backyard 6 inch and 8 inch telescopes are not even going to come close!"

      source

    55. Re:Conspiracy! by Chuckstar · · Score: 1

      Just because there's a couple dark dots and a light dot near where the lander is supposed to be, doesn't mean that that's the lander. This is especially true since the sunlight seems to be coming from the right side of the picture, so the shadow should be to the left of the lander, while here the shadow is to the right side of the white dot, just like if it were a crater.

      Add to that the fact that there is NO WAY the 4.3 m wide lander and/or its shadow would show up on a picture taken from 100 km in orbit with a hand-held camera.

    56. Re:Conspiracy! by tmortn · · Score: 1

      actually the one I thought it was did go to the left. And at an oblique angle your not talking baout the lander footprint but its shadow and that could indeed stretch far enough to be visible. Just depends on the pixel resolution. If its down around 10m or so then the lander and shadow would indeed be a significant makeup of the shade of pixel rendered.

      All in all I dunno, perhaps it is perhaps it isn't.

      --
      I don't ask you to be me. I only ask you not expect me to be you.
    57. Re:Conspiracy! by Chuckstar · · Score: 1

      Ach, didn't click in to the close-up. It really does look like it could only be the lander. Oh, well, guess I'm not always right.

  2. Awesome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now I can find the best route to work. If they get Google Moon Ride Finder up and running I'll be all set.

    1. Re:Awesome... by iamdrscience · · Score: 1
      Now I can find the best route to work. If they get Google Moon Ride Finder up and running I'll be all set.
      Next time read the FAQ first, please:
      Google will fully integrate Google Local search capabilities into Google Moon, which will allow our users to quickly find lunar business addresses, numbers and hours of operation, among other valuable forms of Moon-oriented local information.
    2. Re:Awesome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This appears to be the front side only (as you pass off the edge of the front side you get to the other side of the front. The somewhat featureless crater plain on the backside is missing, as is the very famous "bullseye" crater.

    3. Re:Awesome... by uncoveror · · Score: 1
      --
      The Uncoveror: It's the real news.
    4. Re:Awesome... by KDR_11k · · Score: 1

      Yes but does it show the Toast King?

      --
      Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
    5. Re:Awesome... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What's with the serious east coast bias on that Ride Finder? WTF, is the west coast no longer important? I thought Google was based in San Francsico, you'd think they wouldn't buy into this whole east coast is superior bullshit.

    6. Re:Awesome... by empaler · · Score: 1

      Well, that's very handy, especially since I recall something about Google planning to set up offices on the moon...

    7. Re:Awesome... by Headcase88 · · Score: 1

      "Google will fully integrate Google Local search capabilities into Google Moon, which will allow our users to quickly find lunar business addresses, numbers and hours of operation, among other valuable forms of Moon-oriented local information."

      Yes, but they promised that this would be completed by 2069, in honour of the 100th anniversery of the moon landing. (That's what I call thinking ahead). So it'll be a while before this is done.

      --
      "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
  3. HaHa by maotx · · Score: 5, Informative

    And who says Google doesn't have a sense of humor?

    Example 1:
    From their FAQ:
    4. Is Google Moon a result of your Copernicus initiative?

    Glad you asked, and yes, the development of our lunar hosting and research center continues apace. We usually don't announce future products in advance, but in this case, yes, we can confirm that on July 20th, 2069, in honor of the 100th anniversary of mankind's first manned lunar landing, Google will fully integrate Google Local search capabilities into Google Moon, which will allow our users to quickly find lunar business addresses, numbers and hours of operation, among other valuable forms of Moon-oriented local information.


    Example 2:
    On moon.google.com, if you zoom all the way in on the moon the imagery changes from satellite shots of the moon to a cheese template. Sense of humor at it's finest.

    Looking forward to see what they come with next.

    Side note: Does Google still offer satellite imagery of Mars in Google Earth? It was offered when it was Keyhole.

    --
    I'm a virgo and on Slashdot. Coincidence? Yes.
    1. Re:HaHa by iapetus · · Score: 4, Interesting
      And who says Google doesn't have a sense of humor?

      Well, The Register says they don't have a sense of humour...
      --
      ++ Say to Elrond "Hello.".
      Elrond says "No.". Elrond gives you some lunch.
    2. Re:HaHa by EdHockery · · Score: 1

      Google is close: the moon is made of green cheese, as everybody knows...

      --
      "Each man has his price Bob, and yours was pretty low...", Roger Waters, Amused To Death.
    3. Re:HaHa by zipzap54 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Of course Google has a sense of humor.
      I emailed lunarjobs@google.com about their available positions. It seems everyone else got to them first ^_^

      "From: lunarjobs@google.com

      Thank you for contacting Google about our Copernicus Research Center.

      We've received an overwhelming response to this opportunity and are not
      currently accepting additional resumes. We will, however, keep your
      information on file should we have an opening in the future. At the
      current staffing levels, we anticipate that we may need additional
      applicants on or around April Fool's Day in 2104. Until then, we
      appreciate your interest in Google and your taking the time to write us.

      Sincerely,

      The Googlunar Recruiting Team"

      --
      "All programmers are playwrights and all computers are lousy actors."
    4. Re:HaHa by DelphicGuardian · · Score: 1
      Example 2:
      On moon.google.com, if you zoom all the way in on the moon the imagery changes from satellite shots of the moon to a cheese template. Sense of humor at it's finest.
      They've made a very serious mistake here, the cheese in google moon is yellow colored. It should be green.
    5. Re:HaHa by GiT · · Score: 0

      Like I need the register to tell me what's funny. I am reminded of the time they reported that .org had fallen off the internet based on an erroneous blog post.. responsible journalism? nah, this is the reg, nothing but a /. wanna be with bloggers pretending to be all grown up journalists.. but I'm not bitter.

    6. Re:HaHa by Whamo · · Score: 2, Funny

      Whatever you do, DO NOT go to full zoom at uranus.google.com

    7. Re:HaHa by azmeith · · Score: 1

      You do realize that most of the world spells it that way....

  4. Swiss? by dave-tx · · Score: 1, Redundant
    ...and when you zoom all the way in, you can find out what the Moon is actually made of...?

    --

    >> "What would the robut do? Frame someone!"

  5. Mmmm Cheese by Mz6 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Don't forget to zoom in all the way to see what the moon is really made of.

    --
    Hmmm.
    1. Re:Mmmm Cheese by nblender · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      You know, I'd already seen this before the /. story but the surprise I got when zooming in was true... It sucks to have everyone spoiling the surprise for others though.

    2. Re:Mmmm Cheese by rah1420 · · Score: 1

      It sucks to have everyone spoiling the surprise for others though.

      Well, if everyone R'ed TFA (or TFWS as the case may be) before they read the /. comments, they wouldn't see these as spoilers. "-1 Redundant," maybe, but not spoilers.

      --
      Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.
  6. The rumours are true! by nurhussein · · Score: 1

    Google is planning a moonbase!

  7. Zoom in by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google put a cute easter egg when you zoom in all the way. Check it out.

  8. Obligatory joke coming.. by Paska · · Score: 4, Funny

    Google Overlords: Earth, check. Moon, check.

    I, for one, welcome our new Moon overlords.

    1. Re:Obligatory joke coming.. by m50d · · Score: 2, Funny

      5 posts and we haven't had a "that's no moon..."? What's this place coming to?

      --
      I am trolling
    2. Re:Obligatory joke coming.. by brenddie · · Score: 1

      Google Eatrh, check Google Moon , check Google Mars ,

      --
      The best test environment is production. - Me
      chrome://browser/content/browser.xul
    3. Re:Obligatory joke coming.. by DarkSarin · · Score: 1, Redundant

      I think you messed it up:

      on the moon, the new Overlords welcome you!

      --
      "We don't know what we are doing, but we are doing it very carefully,..." Wherry, R.J. Personnel Psychology (1995)
    4. Re:Obligatory joke coming.. by Minwee · · Score: 2, Funny
      Ahem.

      "That's no moon, that's a search engine!"

      Is everybody happy now?

    5. Re:Obligatory joke coming.. by Doc_NH · · Score: 1

      Nice!

      --
      if vegetarians eat vegetables why are cannibals not humanitarians.
  9. Zoom by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Zoom all the way in. It's cheddar I tell you.

    1. Re:Zoom by Anonu · · Score: 0

      Everybody knows that the moon is made of swiss cheese. Cheddar would never work, its far too dense, the moon would sink.

      --
      SIGSIG -- signature too long (core dumped)
  10. Now we can all see the studio. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Since we all know that the moon landings were faked, I'm sure we are all looking forward to seeing the studio on the lunar surface where they filmed it all.

    1. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Adrilla · · Score: 3, Funny

      If the moon landing were faked, then the studio would NOT be on THE MOON

      --

      "Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
    2. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by JonasH · · Score: 5, Funny

      You'd have to appreciate the irony of it though.

      <moviemaker> Sir, to realisticly fake this moonlanding, we need special gravity conditions.
      <superior> Like what?
      <moviemaker> Well, the best place to film it would be.. on.. you know, the moon.
      <superior> We can arrange that.

      Just shows that the real money is in movie-making.

    3. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by rufty_tufty · · Score: 1

      Or the futurama quote: Move this spaceship to Area 51 But that's where we're faking the moon landings Sir. Dammit, then we'll just have to land on the moon.

      --
      "The weirdest thing about a mind, is that every answer that you find, is the basis of a brand new cliche" -
    4. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Myrmi · · Score: 1

      OH SHIT! IS ON THE MOON!

      --
      "I think everyone is an agnostic but just doesn't know" - Frazz
    5. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is the first time i've ever seen the explanation of a joke be considered funnier than the joke.

    6. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by wodon · · Score: 1

      Unless of course the Conspiracy theory was misread.

      We always assume that the dispute is that man landed on THE MOON. Could it not also be that they faked MAN landing on the moon.
      Which would explain why the moon-dwellers would need a studio.

      --
      It's My Tea and I'll Drink it if I Want To!
    7. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by BewireNomali · · Score: 1

      that's actually funny.

      the standard tinfoil hat theory is that Stanley Kubrick directd the moon landings to correspond with his work on 2001: a space odyssey, and that he did it for 2 reasons, first because "his brother" was being detained as a communist sympathizer... and 2: because he negotiated a deal wherein he would shoot the footage in exchange for access to Area 51.

      I actually have been thinking that it would make a good film, but Christiane Kubrick doesn't agree with me.

      --
      un burrito me trampeó.
    8. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      ZOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

    9. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by BewireNomali · · Score: 1

      lol... any director will tell you that the real money is made by the handful of stars and by blockbuster producers.

      --
      un burrito me trampeó.
    10. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Living+WTF · · Score: 1

      How is this "5, Funny"? It should be "-1, Didn't get the joke"

      --
      I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
    11. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by crazyvas · · Score: 1
      If the moon landing were faked, then the studio would NOT be on THE MOON

      Mods, *PLEASE* restore the dignity and honor of /. and mod down the post above as overrated. Pretty pretty please?

    12. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why didn't the government just use the Aliens and/or technology they are hiding in Area 51 to go to the moon and film it there?

      ps. "It's been 7 minutes since you last successfully posted a comment." Nice code, assholes.

    13. Re:Now we can all see the studio. by Panaphonix · · Score: 1

      I landed on the moon, You insensitive clod!

  11. Falsified by Arthur+B. · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't even see Dr. Evil giant "laser" !

    --
    \u262D = \u5350
    1. Re:Falsified by iamdrscience · · Score: 0
      I can't even see Dr. Evil giant "laser" !
      1998 called, it wants its joke back.

      Just give it to me, I need to bring the above joke back to them anyways.
    2. Re:Falsified by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Reagan called, he resents being called "Dr. Evil".

  12. Hrm.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I can't seem to find any coffee shops.

    1. Re:Hrm.. by kcelery · · Score: 1

      Six Apollo mission center round here where you can zoom in to find cheese. The answer must be pizza shop.

  13. The Moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So the is really made of cheese? I knew it all along. And I heard that NASA never really went to the moon and those pictures were just taken in Ohio.
    Bad Photoshop job?

  14. The moon?? by defrabelizer · · Score: 1

    Well, i never knew, the moon is made of cheese. Anyhow, i think that this is a great step for google (pun not intended). Hopefully we will soon see a google solar system. Google is doing a great job, and lets hope it continues.

    1. Re:The moon?? by pianoman113 · · Score: 1

      I was under the impression that the moon was made of green cheese. Thanks to the wonders of satellite images we can now all see the truth for ourselves.

      --

      Free as in speech, free as in beer, or free as in lunch?
    2. Re:The moon?? by defrabelizer · · Score: 1

      What happened to white??? Lets start a new ecosystem by sending up cats and mice in a bag...

    3. Re:The moon?? by mmkkbb · · Score: 1, Insightful

      It looks green when looking through Earth's blue sky!

      --
      -mkb
    4. Re:The moon?? by legallyillegal · · Score: 0

      you already let the cat out of the bag

      --
      ?giS
  15. Wow... by troon · · Score: 1, Funny

    If you zoom all the way in... oh, wait. Redundant, yeah?

    --
    Ydco co ,df C erb-y go. a Ekrpat t.fxrapev
    1. Re:Wow... by TimTheFoolMan · · Score: 1

      Yeah... CUT THE CHEESE already

      <sniff><sniff>

      Wait...

      Tim

  16. You bastards, you've slashdotted GOOGLE! by dlawson · · Score: 5, Funny

    I can't believe you did this!

    --
    dot-sig.
    1. Re:You bastards, you've slashdotted GOOGLE! by saskboy · · Score: 1

      Now Google's server is made out of swiss cheese. Just zoom in on their moon pictures and see for yourself.

      --
      Saskboy's blog is good. 9 out of 10 dentists agree.
  17. Cool by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Google has a man on the moon as it's cartoon today....
    This moon feature is beyond cool- but may be another productivity sapping item for me at work. What I wonder is if we will get full zooming. My understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards (i.e. pedophiles).
    What will this do to Hoagland's career if they do this for other planets, say Mars? Is Cydonia over?

    --
    And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
    1. Re:Cool by digidave · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "My understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards (i.e. pedophiles)"

      That's pretty stupid. Sounds like a new urban legend. Pedophiles don't need to look at satelite imagery to find victims. If the resolution is limited, it's more likely for general privacy reasons.

      Quite likely, they want to limit the size of the images they store, so they don't use the highest possible resolution.

      --
      The global economy is a great thing until you feel it locally.
    2. Re:Cool by GigsVT · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards (i.e. pedophiles).

      Where did you get a crazy idea like that?

      And what makes people think all these pedophiles can't just drive around their own town and find kids?

      --
      I've had enough abrasive sigs. Kittens are cute and fuzzy.
    3. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      Google Maps is not purposely limited, they are simply using the highest-resolution data available to them (for free?) from the USGS. Try downloading the highest resolution you can from the USGS, it is identical to the Google data (same time it was taken, etc.).

      Try it for yourself at: http://seamless.usgs.gov/!
      (Posting AC because I don't have an account. Not a troll.)

    4. Re:Cool by slavemowgli · · Score: 1

      You *can* zoom in fully already. :) As for artificially limiting the zoom level... maybe it's just me, but I always thought pedophiles were after children, not swing sets.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
    5. Re:Cool by Alex+P+Keaton+in+da · · Score: 4, Informative

      I got the crazy idea from Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt...
      Link here.... http://news.com.com/Quote+of+the+day+Cant+see+your +swing+set/2110-1029_3-5713885.html
      Text: Quote of the day: 'Can't see your swing set' Published: May 19, 2005, 12:00 PM PDT By CNET News.com Staff
      Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt, in defending his company's privacy policies at a symposium Thursday, said the detail on the new map-linked satellite imagery is deliberately limited. "We cannot see your swing set, and we're not trying to," he said, adding that Google has complied with government agency requests to blank out areas of its satellite maps. "The value of more information so overwhelms its misuse that we've not had material problems there."

      --
      And All I Ask is a Tall Ship And a Star to Steer Her By
    6. Re:Cool by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      I got the crazy idea from Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt... said the detail on the new map-linked satellite imagery is deliberately limited. "We cannot see your swing set, and we're not trying to,"

      He did say "swing set"; you made up the "paedophile" part.

    7. Re:Cool by stienman · · Score: 1

      My understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards

      Where might that understanding have come from?

      It is more likely that they simply don't have the data. Satellites can't resolve much more than what's available at Google.

      Local municipalities have aerial photos. Keyhole probably pays for aerial photos of larger citires, but is unlikely to get the entire US.

      A good site to see high resolution aerials of Washtenaw county, MI (includes Ann Arbor) is here. Select browse, click somewhere on the image, then zoom in a few times. On the right hand side (after zooming in suficiently) you can select 2002 photos and see (among other things) kids playsets.

      It has a nice picture of the 107,501 seat Michigan Stadium (Ann Arbor population: 115 thousand) on the corner of Main and Stadium in Ann Arbor.

      I imagine other municipalities have similar resources available, though a lot of aerial imagery is still in flat files at the county office for many counties in the US.

      -Adam

    8. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We don't call them swing sets, we call them "bait".

    9. Re:Cool by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hmm. So you can't use Google Maps to see a structure made out of pipes that average about 4" wide. Yep, that's obviously to stop pedophiles; nothing to do with the difficulty of seeing such a thing at all.

  18. Google technology, silly. by Slartibartfast · · Score: 1

    The patented GoogleCam(tm) is vastly superior to any telescope. Intentionally? The conspiracy deepens...

  19. This will be a lot cooler when... by DrHanser · · Score: 1

    LROC goes up, we are able to view the actual remains from the Apollo missions.

    --
    What is humor if not pain tempered by time?
  20. Nasa fat cats by ForumTroll · · Score: 1

    This proves it. NASA is giving us black and white pictures that consist of cheese zoomed up really close and living it up in some paradise with their riches.

    --
    "A Lisp programmer knows the value of everything, but the cost of nothing." - Alan Perlis
  21. So when's Mars coming up? by Pegasus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Seriously, with all the imagery Nasa has, Google Mars would be nice too.

    1. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      good idea, but why stop there... google milky way =)

    2. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by Spacejock · · Score: 3, Funny

      Absolutely... Because we're all keen to find the nearest Mars Bar.

    3. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by Helish · · Score: 0

      Mars is kind of gay, I'm after Venus. That's where all the chicks are!

    4. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by new+death+barbie · · Score: 1

      I'd really like a 3D view, like they did for Google Earth. I want to see what Mons Olympus looks like from the ground.

      --

      It's supposed to be completely automatic, but actually you have to press this button.

    5. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by CrazyTalk · · Score: 1

      Yep. We can search for all of those missing probes that crashed there!

    6. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by mmacdona86 · · Score: 1

      Mars MOLA Viewer is 3D, and it's open source too. Linux and Windows compatible (with appropriate OpenGL drivers)

    7. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by rhaig · · Score: 1

      it's already available, just not on the web.
      go get google earth plus, and when you login it has an option to check out mars.

      --
      "We are not tolerant people. We prefer drastically effective solutions"
    8. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually for mars.google.com you'd probably prefer the ESA images: http://mars.esa.int/

    9. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by hilaryduff · · Score: 0

      i like how when i asked about other planets, i got modded down (from 1) to 0 "overrated"...

    10. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by AutopsyReport · · Score: 1

      So would GoogleMyNeighboursMom :)

      --

      For he today that sheds his blood with me shall be my brother.

    11. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by NaruVonWilkins · · Score: 1

      It's been there for a couple years, in Keyhole (now Google Earth). I think you may have to get the Plus edition.

    12. Re:So when's Mars coming up? by Spacejock · · Score: 1

      I want to see what Mons Olympus looks like from the ground.

      Coming next: Google Body, so you can see Mons Pubis from the ground. (And from the side. And the top. And...)

  22. something is missing by circletimessquare · · Score: 3, Funny

    i can't get driving directions to those locations

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  23. Where are the options? by alexandreracine · · Score: 1


    You can't even do a "from" - "to" direction option!
    How I am suppose to get from A to B now?

    --
    No sig for now.
    1. Re:Where are the options? by Lord+Dimwit+Flathead · · Score: 1

      From the looks of it, you might have to go through C.

    2. Re:Where are the options? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "...you might have to go through C."

      Holy shit! I have to exceed the speed of light to get to the moon!? This is going to be harder than I thought...

  24. haha by Rinisari · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hey, the moon IS made of- *by the time this message is posted, 500 other geeks will have beat me to the end of that sentence and have already posted what everyone is going to find out within 30 seconds of looking at the site*

  25. Juvenile humor by amightywind · · Score: 1

    I was expecting to be able to browse some of the great Clementine or Apollo-era lunar images. I got juvenile humor instead. Is this the best those geniouses at google can do?

    --
    an ill wind that blows no good
    1. Re:Juvenile humor by ozbon · · Score: 1, Funny

      A serious system fault has occurred in your programming. Please reboot humour.exe ( or humor.exe for American jokes ) immediately.

      --
      I say we take off and nuke it from orbit. It's the only way to be sure...
    2. Re:Juvenile humor by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're a waste of time. I didn't even respond to the Google material, but I DID respond to you. Look at what you've done, you rotten time waster.

      Now get back under the bridge.

  26. ooh cool. maybe other planets too!? by hilaryduff · · Score: 0

    i know theyve mapped some of the other planets

  27. april fools in july by kraksmoka · · Score: 1

    and just when i was getting ready for christmas in july :(

    --
    "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." - Rahm Emanuel
  28. Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by evilandi · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I note that Google have conveniently forgotten to place the Soviet (Russian) Lunokhod moon robots on the map (at Sea of Rains and Le Monnier, Mare Serenitatis).

    --
    Andrew Oakley - www.aoakley.com
    1. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by Sketch · · Score: 2, Interesting

      > I note that Google have conveniently forgotten to place the Soviet (Russian) Lunokhod moon robots on the map (at Sea of Rains and Le Monnier, Mare Serenitatis).

      I wonder if the Google Maps API works on Google Moon. Maybe someone else can make a page which adds them. ;)

      --
      -- OpenVerse Visual Chat: http://openverse.com
    2. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by guardian653dave · · Score: 1

      In Soviet Russia the Americans don't care... (bad pun I know..)

      --
      God's in his heaven-All's right with the world. Karma=Bad ? F*ck that
    3. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by lxs · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Further proof that manned missions capture the public imagination far better than unmanned missions.

      I'm usually the first to accuse Americans of not caring about the world outside the US borders, but since they are commemorating the first man on the moon, it stands to reason that they only mark the manned moon missions.

    4. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They also forgot the Soviet Luna missions, the US Ranger impact sites, and the US Surveyor landing sites. That would be a big deal, except the map only shows manned landing sites at the moment.

    5. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by cashman73 · · Score: 1
      In Soviet Russia the Americans don't care...

      I'm not so sure the Russians even care about Soviet Russia, either,... ;-)

    6. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by p4ul13 · · Score: 1
      pun : Pronunciation Key (puhn)
      n.
      A play on words, sometimes on different senses of the same word and sometimes on the similar sense or sound of different words.

      Hmmmmm, nope that's not it...

      cliché : Pronunciation Key (kli-shay)
      n.
      1. A trite or overused expression or idea expressed by those who have nothing of interest to say.
      2. A person or character whose behavior is predictable or superficial.

      That sounds about right.

      Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

      --
      Paul Lenhart writes words!
    7. Re:Lunokhod Soviet moon robots? by radtea · · Score: 1


      They don't show any non-crewed landings. So what?

      --
      Blasphemy is a human right. Blasphemophobia kills.
  29. it's not Wensleydale... by BlindRobin · · Score: 1

    but it's not bad

  30. Finally!! by EqualOrLesserValue · · Score: 1, Funny

    I hate getting lost there. I never remember where to turn left. The craters all look the same. My wife always complains.

    Shazbat, Google!

    --
    The trouble with Karma is: it always gets worse.
  31. Re:Planets by Slartibartfast · · Score: 1

    Well, a reason not to do, say, oh, I don't know, ANY OF THE GAS GIANTS is because we can't freaking SEE any features that are solid.

    Helloooo?

  32. Mmh by ArAgost · · Score: 1

    I guess things of this kind are the reasons why Google valuation is ambiguos

  33. Re:The Secret the Government Doesn't Want You to K by Adrilla · · Score: 1, Funny

    wow...not only did Ian beat me on submitting the story, but then when I thought I was gonna be cool and show all of slashdot "the secret", I got beaten there too. I just can't win with this google moon story. Oh well, maybe I can submit a dupe?

    --

    "Plans are for fools! Oglethorpe, the plutonian (Aqua Teen Hunger Force)
  34. The moon is a sea urchin! by dpbsmith · · Score: 1

    At the highest magnification, it is clear that the moon's surface looks just like the "test" (shell) of a sea urchin.

    Imagine what it must have been like, aeons ago, when it was still alive and covered with spines.

  35. Directions by romka1 · · Score: 0

    Thanks now I will never get lost on the moon :)

    --
    Visit my site @ http://www.madtorrent.com
  36. It's True! by Panaphonix · · Score: 3, Funny

    Instead of putting down an American flag, they installed a big letter A! I wonder why I can't see it at night?

    1. Re:It's True! by Megane · · Score: 2, Funny

      I'm more worried about where they hid the "H" than about the "C" and "A".

      --
      #naabhaprzrag, #sverubfr-000, #agi-fcbafberq, negvpyr[pynff*=' negvpyr-ary-'] { qvfcynl: abar !vzcbegnag; }
    2. Re:It's True! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, where's Apollo 13?

    3. Re:It's True! by Alien+Venom · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do you remember Apollo 13 landing on the moon? I sure don't. Doofus.

    4. Re:It's True! by caswelmo · · Score: 1

      Do you remember sarcasm? I sure do. Dingleberry. :^)

    5. Re:It's True! by leprasmurf · · Score: 1

      But I don't see the Lunar base...Maybe thats why they haven't placed the G flag there yet.

      --
      "And The Geek Shall Inherit The Earth" --Jeff Darlington
    6. Re:It's True! by Flounder · · Score: 1
      Charo?

      Chachi?

      --

      No boom today. Boom tomorrow. There's always a boom tomorrow. - Cmdr. Susan Ivanova

  37. Clickable image map of lunar landing sites by wherley · · Score: 4, Informative
  38. Goatse by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    http://uranus.google.com/

    But don't zoom in!

  39. Clever marketing? by Bob+Bobbinson · · Score: 1

    Aside from the humour of this moon google, I would like to suggest that this is a brilliant piece of marketing on Google's part for their Google maps service, and Google Earth (note the link, "Looking for something on Planet Earth?").

    With the humour and the cool factor this is going to spread around quite quickly.

    So I reckon some very clever viral marketing from Google there.

  40. In other news ... by Geshiggity · · Score: 1, Funny

    Microsoft is developing a clone of Google Moon, called Microsoft Noom. However, to enhance the moon-viewing experience, Microsoft will give the user the ability to add virtual smiley faces on the face of the moon and change the color of the moon.

    1. Re:In other news ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They will then sue anyone who leaves the Microsoft Noom project and tries to join Google Moon because Microsoft own a lot of trade secrets in that space they need to protect.

    2. Re:In other news ... by RagingChipmunk · · Score: 1

      Microsoft "Moon" has been delayed to coincide with the release of its much anticipated "Longhorn" operating system. "MS Moon 1.0" will feature DRM that will digitally secure and enforce protection of crater-ownership. "Crater infringement is a serious issue for crater providers. Failing to protect the rightful use and ownership will undermine all future lunar economic plans, we feel the delay will be worth the wait"

      --
      The only PT Boat Journal on the web: http://www.PT171.org
  41. Here is a GPL PowerMap. by tetrahedrassface · · Score: 4, Interesting
    We run #space on freenode.

    One of our members has created this:

    http://hobbiton.thisside.net/advmap_moon.html

    Its a take off of google maps, but extends some some functionality into it. It looks really nice. Enjoy!

    Stop by #space sometime for a visit.

    1. Re:Here is a GPL PowerMap. by Vorondil28 · · Score: 1

      Has an IRC channel (or server, for that matter) ever been /.ed? I guess we'll find out. ;)

      --
      This sig rocks the casbah.
  42. That's not the moon: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That's Omicron Persei 8.

  43. No by tgd · · Score: 1

    Its resolution is limited to the source material. In some areas its satellite and not too great, in other areas its from arial photographs and is MUCH better. Around Massachusetts, for example, its pleanty high enough to see things like that.

    My parents live in Scottsdale and you can clearly see the fire pit in their back yard and, specifically to your comment, the playground thing in their neighbors.

    1. Re:No by mikael · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The high resolution images completed missed half of Edinburgh in Scotland, and imaged a large number of fields to the West instead

      At least we know which field to use for a picnic.

      The most minding bending image I've seen is of Wilshire Blvd in LA, where all the buildings seem to be leaning at different angles. I assume this is due to photographs being taken from different perspectives.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    2. Re:No by WillerZ · · Score: 1

      OMG that LA photo is nauseating. And not for the usual reason LA is nauseating either.

      --
      I guess today is a passable day to die.
    3. Re:No by hesiod · · Score: 1

      It's like looking at a real-life MC Escher image...

    4. Re:No by XO · · Score: 1

      Try pulling up any area where there's any kind of military base. :-) Augusta, Michigan is in the same zip code as a military base, and you can't zoom in on anything within about 12 miles of it's center.

      --
      "Champagne for my real friends - and real pain for my sham friends!" http://ericblade.postalboard.com/
    5. Re:No by sconeu · · Score: 1

      The LA image is actually a single image, as far as I can tell. You're being confused by the curving streets and because the black items that look like buildings are actually shadows.

      My favorite picture is this one

      That Saturn V is one huge bird!

      --
      General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
    6. Re:No by Fenris+Ulf · · Score: 1

      That "large number of fields" is Edinburgh International Airport.

    7. Re:No by sobachatina · · Score: 1
      That doesn't seem to be general procedure. There are several military installations I have lived at that have very high resolution photos.

      Elmendorf AFB, Ak

      Tinker AFB, Ok

      I assume both of these bases have sensitive strategic value but you can almost make out people on the flight lines.

    8. Re:No by mikael · · Score: 1

      Even if the streets are curved and are going up and down hills, one would hope that the buildings are all built vertically. At one place, there are two office blocks that appear to interest the same point in space.

      It could be that the satellite imagery has been reprocessed so that areas photographed at an angle and would appear as trapezoids have been reprocessed as squares.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
    9. Re:No by mikael · · Score: 1

      Not forgetting the Forth Road Bridge, Heriot Watt University, and the Edinburgh Bypass while missing out Edinburgh Castle, Princes Street and Leith.

      But they seem to have done the same thing with Glasgow and Aberdeen - missing half the city and outer suburbs.

      --
      Vintage computer adverts: http://www.vintageadbrowser.com/computers-and-software-ads
  44. Wallace was right! by gmac63 · · Score: 1

    Wallace was right! The Moon IS made of cheese!

    Whoooooo hoooooo!

    --

    INSERT INTO comment VALUE('Doh!') WHERE user='you';
    1. Re:Wallace was right! by hayfever · · Score: 1

      Don't forget the crackers.

  45. Some folks still contest the "landing" by bogaboga · · Score: 0
    If some folks still contest the lunar landing, how relevant can Google Moon be? These folks point to the following: -

    1: The moon's surface dust which was now blown away when the craft was landing.

    2: Both sides of the American flag were bright! This is impossible since we all know that in an environment lit on one side, the other most have a shadow.

    3: The orientation of the astronaut's shadow suggested a different light source other than the sun!

    4: The American flag was shown to be being blown by some wind...yet we know that the moon has NO wind!

    5: There were no stars in the moon's sky! Where did they go? Americans must have forgotten this one. Where do you stand on this?

    1. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by vidarh · · Score: 0

      And all of these "issues", and many more, have been answered many times. Go read the rebuttals, and stop believing everything the tin foil mafia tells you to.

    2. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by youknowmewell · · Score: 0

      I think it's too early to be discussing stupid conspiracy theories that have little importance. Let's leave that for after lunch, hm?

    3. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by Panaphonix · · Score: 1
    4. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by whathappenedtomonday · · Score: 1
      by some happy incident, I saw a discovery channel documentary on the exact topic yesterday; let's see how much I remember:

      1) this was explained along the lines of "the lander also moved sideways, not just downwards" and that some very little dust could be seen. weak explanation..

      2) the fabric is translucent, so both sides would be lit even if you only have one single light source; weak point

      3) the shape and direction of the shadows do depend on the surface they fall on; very weak point.

      4) while putting up the flag it was moved and shaken; in space, that movement will continue for a longer time and it might look like wind, when in fact the flag moved only after it had been touched. weak point, especially since there are quite a few images / flics where you see astronauts pass by the flag and it wouldn't budge (in a studio, it certainly would have!)

      5) go to a beach near you, set up a single light source and photograph your girl friend (or light sabre, whichever is available to you). you won't see any stars on you photo (a matter of contrast, I think - maybe some pro photographer can explain that in technical terms). weak point.

      the documentary refuted all but the first of your points quite plausibly; yet, I'm really not sure about that dust thing.

      --
      I hope I didn't brain my damage.
    5. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by DarkDust · · Score: 1

      *yawn* The same old "I-didn't-pay-attention-at-school" physics questions related to the moon.

      Now, let's look at these...

      1: The moon's surface dust which was now blown away when the craft was landing.

      Uhm, yes, there was dust (of course !), and it was blown away (of course !). I don't know what you want to say with this one. I guess you propably mean the one were people say dust was raised, why is there none on the space crafts feet. Simply because there is no atmosphere, which is why the dust gets blow aways from the craft in a nice flat parable and can't swirl around like it can on earth where we have a gas atmosphere.

      2: Both sides of the American flag were bright! This is impossible since we all know that in an environment lit on one side, the other most have a shadow.

      Haven't seen this one. But what about light reflecting on the space craft ?

      3: The orientation of the astronaut's shadow suggested a different light source other than the sun!

      Haven't seen this one either... see number 2.

      4: The American flag was shown to be being blown by some wind...yet we know that the moon has NO wind!

      Since there is no atmosphere there is almost no damping (I'm no native english speaker, I hope it's the correct term). If you rattle on the flag it looks like blowing in the wind, and this effect last a lot longer than it does here one earth.

      5: There were no stars in the moon's sky! Where did they go? Americans must have forgotten this one. Where do you stand on this?

      You should go take some photography lessons. As noted a few times already, there is no atmosphere on moon. The sun's light isn't dimmed and the dust reflects the light as well (remember snow blindness). It's so bright on moon that the astronauts' helmets were propably the most expensive sunglasses (they used a gold coated visor, IIRC). In fact it's so bright on moon that the light reflected from the dust can illuminate earth on the night side considerably. So, if you take a picture on moon and adjust the camera to the brightness so that you can actually see features on the moon then the surrounding stars are just waaaaaaay too dim. Go to the dark side of the moon to see some stars.

    6. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by KD5YPT · · Score: 1

      Just to be through and for those lazy moon consipiracist...

      1. If you mean the lack of surface dust being blown away, that's because the rocket was reduced to low power during landing. Further more, the whole capsule is moving across the landscape, further spreading the rocket's blow over a large area, hence the near non-existence of dust being blown away.

      2. Looks at flag on earth, tell me its dark at the side away from sun. The flag used on the moon have a relatively thin fabric, hence the sunlight ACTUALLY filters through them (against, look at several flags on earth, you can see this is the truth.

      3. Don't go out much? I know you're refering the the non-parellel shadow argument. Go out to some area with rolling hills during sunset, take note of the shadow created by object, you'll see that they're not-parellel.

      4. YOu're right, there's no wind on moon. But that's actually the reason the flag appears to wave. Try this at home. Get a piece of cloth, hold it by its upper two corners (so it resembles the flag on moon). And wave it a bit, notice how it continues to wave for a bit before stopping? The reason it stopped is because the air dampens its motion. On moon, having no air, when the astronaut planted the flag and jostle it, the waving motion can be maintained for a while. (If you're talking about how the flag stays open, there's a second, horizontal alluminum bar above the flag holding it up).

      5. Again, do this simple experiment. Take a camera (no, ANY camera). Wait for a clear night, where you can see stars. Now, find a relatively big subject and shine a VERY bright spotlight (the sun in vaccum act as a VERY bright spotlight). Car light works well. Now, try taking the picture of said subject WHILE keeping the star visible. Impossible, right? That's the reason there's no stars. The brightness on the moon is so bright that the camera couldn't get the exposure length required to get the star in without having the rest of the scenery whited out.

      Here's one website where I got most of my rebuttal from.
      http://pirlwww.lpl.arizona.edu/~jscotti/NOT_faked/
      Finally, go ask the people who does this. They'll tell you EXACTLY what the Apollo program give them. (If you ask nicely enough, they'll even show you, "Look there's the mirror where we bounce laser off of.")

      --
      In US, you can easily buy enough major firearms to wipe out your neighbourhood but a few little fireworks are banned.
    7. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by KD5YPT · · Score: 1

      2. is easy. Look at flag on earth, particular those on high mast (reduce any possibility that its ground reflection), you'll note that the flag is bright on both side too (when made with the right material). The flag on the moon is made with materials that allows the sun to filter through.

      3. It has also been debunked. The shadow differences is due to terrain difference (find rolling hills in afternoon, note shadow).

      4. You term of damping is correct. Thumbs-up for the correct word usage despite being a non-native speaker :-).

      --
      In US, you can easily buy enough major firearms to wipe out your neighbourhood but a few little fireworks are banned.
    8. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by phlegmofdiscontent · · Score: 1

      I see there's already a dog pile going on, but I have just one thing to add regarding point 4:
      If the moon "landing" was filmed on a soundstage in Burbank like some people claim, then why the hell would there be any wind at all?

    9. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Please.

      Think about it. The Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs were VAST undertakings, involving lots of people working for NASA and many, many more working for contractors. You would have to have huge numbers of folks in on any conspiracy to fake a landing.

      Also, remember we were in the middle of both a cold war and a definite race to the moon with Russia. Do you really think that there was any chance that the Soviet Union would have kept quiet if there was any possibility that we had faked the manned landings. The Soviets were surely watching, and given the status of their manned space program would have been technically competent to determine whether we were really there. I feel pretty confident that the Soviets would have squawked loud and long if there was the slightest possibiltiy of any funny business on our part. They were quick to point out our failures along the way.

      One other point. If the Apollo program never put men on the moon, then radio antennas pointed at the moon would not have picked up the astronaut side of radio communications. People were listening, including the Russians and radio hobbyists.

      Arghh... this "it was all faked" silliness just makes me crazy.

    10. Re:Some folks still contest the "landing" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      4) while putting up the flag it was moved and shaken; in space, that movement will continue for a longer time and it might look like wind, when in fact the flag moved only after it had been touched. weak point, especially since there are quite a few images / flics where you see astronauts pass by the flag and it wouldn't budge (in a studio, it certainly would have!)


      Actually, the flag was made to look like it was waving. There was a second flag taken along on that mission that now hangs on the wall in the old Mission Control Center at the Johnson Space Center. That flag is glued (or whatever . . . I forget) to look like it's waving in a breeze.

  46. A question?! by irchs · · Score: 1

    Is that the whole of the moon, seems quite small :) I can't fathom the scale of things I guess :)

    Jan

    --
    Jan
    1. Re:A question?! by cmiller173 · · Score: 1

      No, just the area encompasing the six appolo landing sites. The moon is much larger

  47. Re:The end of Google is near by Steinfiend · · Score: 1

    Yes it might be useless to you (and most other people) now, but who knows in the future? Also the backend to it is the same as that from Google Maps, which is definitely a very useful (and very cool) web application. I'm sure it took them a grand total of about 15 minutes to import the satellite images, 15 minutes to plot all the moon landing points and about 15 minutes to draw the amusing cheese picture. All done in the space of a lunch break, AND yet still supplied a laugh to many people around the world.

  48. Family by AviLazar · · Score: 1

    "Honey, would you plot the route for us to the fifth crater, I think it would be a great way for the kids to meet new friends."

    --

    I mod down so you can mod up. Your welcome.
  49. They're Wrong! by Jsutton1027w · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Everyone knows that the moon is made green cheese, not yellow!!!

  50. Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face by Arthur+B. · · Score: 1

    Find something that looks like a face on the moon and post it in this thread. The challenge includes finding a way to indicate the point in the link...

    --
    \u262D = \u5350
  51. Hmm... by iamdrscience · · Score: 1, Funny

    Okay, there were 6 moon landings, so let's see what the Google Moon grand totals are...

    "Interesting" places to look at: 6
    Boring places to look at: 6,000,000

    1. Re:Hmm... by slavemowgli · · Score: 1

      There were more than 6 moon landings. Russia had at least two unmanned rovers on the moon in the early 1970s.

      --
      quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur.
  52. Re:Planets by Winterblink · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of decent resolution imagery of the gas giants that show a lot of details of the atmosphere. One issue I suppose would be consistent coverage. At any rate, a similar type of thing for even the gas giant would be a very interesting tool to use. But you'd know that if you weren't too busy responding to other peoples' posts like a complete ass.

    --
    "I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar."
    -Hoban Washburn
  53. Re:The Secret the Government Doesn't Want You to K by OohAhh · · Score: 1, Funny

    No. Somebody else is already doing that too.

  54. Bleh by Momoru · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    Ok another little novelty thing that Google does that will get tons of attention....this might be neat if you could actually use it as a map, say type in "Ptolemaeus" and it will show you where that crater is in the moon. This just kind of seems like a waste of time for the Google people (this has what to do with Search again??!). And the swiss cheese thing...man i was just wetting my pants with that.

  55. Re:Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face by szo · · Score: 3, Funny

    the face is on the mars...

    --
    Red Leader Standing By!
  56. Mars Imagery by bucklesl · · Score: 2, Informative
    Does Google still offer satellite imagery of Mars in Google Earth? It was offered when it was Keyhole.

    If you pay for Google Earth Plus you can choose the Mars database. If you had a previous subscription to Keyhole, they gave you the Plus version with a one year extension.

    --
    help fill in hidden movie endings @ End of the Credits
    1. Re:Mars Imagery by Snaller · · Score: 1

      Do you have the plus version? Because people who do say they don't get the mars database, nor is it listed on the google website.

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
  57. Since when is Swiss orange? by jmichaelg · · Score: 0
    All the Swiss cheese I've ever seen is white.

    Then it dawned on me. The moon is made of Swiss cheese but since only Americans have landed on it, its color is American cheese.

  58. Browser by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oddly enough I find it infurating that I cannot use google maps in Mozilla 1.7.8
    I have to use IE - DAMN!

  59. Moonburgers by Lazarus_de_Legio · · Score: 0

    Thanks to google moon, we can know order a moonburger, or if you want to go the Pulp Fiction route, and Royale with Moon. -Laz

  60. Missing something... by Scutter · · Score: 1

    Where's the CHA?

    --

    "Tell me doctor, with all of your defenses, are there any provisions for an attack by killer bees?"
  61. World Wind has had a real moon for ages by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    World Wind (http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/) has had a moon add-on for a long time see - http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/Moon they also have a simple Solar system add-on - http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/The_Planets plus slightly off-topic they have a 3D glasses plugin (http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/Anaglyph_3D_ (plugin)) for the upcoming 1.3.2 release.

  62. Mod parent up by jaysones · · Score: 0

    HA HA HA!

  63. There aren't any by Safety+Cap · · Score: 1

    You can't resolve something that's barely 4 meters from a terrestrial telescope with current technology.

    --
    Yeah, right.
    1. Re:There aren't any by MCraigW · · Score: 1

      It's only 4 meters away from the telescope, and we still can't resolve it?!

    2. Re:There aren't any by Nutria · · Score: 1

      You can't resolve something that's barely 4 meters from a terrestrial telescope with current technology.

      So use an extraterrestrial telescope.

      --
      "I don't know, therefore Aliens" Wafflebox1
  64. Re:Google Moon CONTEST ! Find the face by Arthur+B. · · Score: 1

    It's not on "the mars", it's on Mars and you must be reffering to the famous "Great face of Mars" (as opposed to the great ass of Mars). Does this prevent people to find "a face" on the moon ?

    --
    \u262D = \u5350
  65. spherical moon by hyllios · · Score: 1

    Curiously, I made a couple of years ago a moon map using the same NASA image as google, but projecting the map onto a sphere, You can find it in http://nautilus.fis.uc.pt/astro/ss/html-pt/terra/l ua/globo.php. It's in portuguese, but I guess that you can find your way around. There are also other maps (like mars) if you are interested.

  66. Enough of the conspiracy shit by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 5, Insightful
    http://www.clavius.org/

    If you honestly think the moon landings were faked, you are mentally handicapped.

    1. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Only on Slashdot can you get modded up for making fun of mentally handicapped people.

    2. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, and that's pretty sad.

      That you aren't modded up elsewhere for it.

    3. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      Actually, it doesn't take all that analysis.

      One just have to point a laser beam to the reflective surfaces the astronauts placed on the moon, and notice thaty our beam is reflected. They were placed there for this specific purpose.

      Read more here.

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    4. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I beg to differ: If you weren't there, you don't know.

      I'd say your logic's flawed...but I'm mildly drunk, so that may not be my stance in the morning.

    5. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Snaller · · Score: 1

      Aha, so when you can't prove it, you start with verbal abuse - very clever.

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
    6. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1
      What are you talking about? Did you follow the link?

      Any grown adult with any kind of technical education who thinks the moon landings were hoaxed has mental problems. Period. End of argument.

      This is one of those rare non-ideological issues where there is truly no middle ground. Every last item put forth to prove a hoax has been completely debunked a hundred times over. It's as dead as the flat Earth theory and orgone energy. Moon hoax believers are no better than Creationists.

    7. Re:Enough of the conspiracy shit by Snaller · · Score: 1

      What are you talking about? Did you follow the link?

      That something can be done doesn't mean it has been done.
      Any grown adult with any kind of technical education who thinks the moon landings were hoaxed has mental problems. Period. End of argument.

      Fanatics are usually wrong.

      --
      If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
  67. Mmmmm by Stachel · · Score: 0

    I love cheese.
    Cheese is good.

    --
    Stachel
  68. Google Copernicus - Sith? by Tikicult · · Score: 1

    Does it worry anyone that the Google Copernicus "A brave new frontier in search science" graphic looks like a DeathStar?

    1. Re:Google Copernicus - Sith? by cashman73 · · Score: 1
      Actually, I sort of thought it looked like one of the habitat modules on Planet Spaceball,... or perhaps the Spaceballs prison complex,... ;-)

      "Evil will always prevail, because Good is Dumb." - Dark Helmet


  69. Where's the Cheese by Niioo · · Score: 0

    - So we get to see cheese when we zoom in? NICE! - Same high resolution picture as you zoom in. Until the cheese falls in. - And ohhh - zoom out - it's a tiled image.

  70. Mars is right here by mmacdona86 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Try this-- it's open source, Linux and windows compatible, does need Java Web Start

    Mars MOLA Viewer
    1. Re:Mars is right here by fourtyfive · · Score: 1

      Or for Earth: http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/ Open source, but not currently ported to linux.

  71. What? No Wallace and Grommit landing site? by kriegsman · · Score: 3, Funny

    The full-zoom view of the Moon is worth the price of admission all by itself. ("That's it Gromit....che..eeese. We'll go somewhere where there's cheese!")

    It's too bad that they don't identify all the other historically significant moon landing and lunar event sites -- Wallace and Grommit's landing site from "Grand Day Out" (1991), the big splat from "A Trip To The Moon" (1902), the nuclear explosions opposite Moonbase Alpha (September 13, 1999). Now that I think about it, it's probably only a matter of days before someone makes this as a Google Moon Hack.

    -Mark

  72. Dupe!! by p0 · · Score: 0

    I thought we already... hmmm. nevermind.

    I am suffering from Slashdot Dupe Syndrome.

    --
    This is my sig. There are thousands more, but this one is mine.
  73. Re:Cheespiricy by MyDixieWrecked · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Actually, if you zoom in to maximum resolution, it actually goes from being moon surface to being a funky yellow-coloured swiss cheese texture.

    hmmmmmm.... I knew the moon was made of cheese!

    --



    ...spike
    Ewwwwww, coconut...
  74. No Starbucks nearby? by chiph · · Score: 4, Funny

    Amazingly, a local search turns up no Starbucks coffee shops in the area.
    And I thought they were everywhere.

    Chip H.

    1. Re:No Starbucks nearby? by matt4077 · · Score: 1
      Not yet. However, in the Job Description Starbucks' plans are mentioned:
      " There will be a steady supply of snacks and ample caffeine replenishment through a partnership with Starbucks, which will be opening a store less than a kilometer away in early 2006."
    2. Re:No Starbucks nearby? by jZnat · · Score: 1

      They call them "Earthbucks" up there.

      --
      'Yes, firefox is indeed greater than women. Can women block pops up for you? No. Can Firefox show you naked women? Yes.'
  75. The disclaimer tells you why by ianscot · · Score: 1
    My father worked at an aerial survey company, and they had some nice Mars maps around that I pored over for a while once.

    Whichever federal agency produced them had included a generic boilerplate stamp near the legend, to the effect that the maps weren't to be relied on for navigation purposes.

    --
    "Fundamentalism" isn't about divine morality. It's about human authority.
    1. Re:The disclaimer tells you why by iggymanz · · Score: 1

      Whichever federal agency produced them had included a generic boilerplate stamp near the legend, to the effect that the maps weren't to be relied on for navigation purposes

      "Oh CRAP!" -- project Beagle leader

  76. Google fucked it up... by mcpastore · · Score: 1

    DivideBYZero of the Anandtech Forums noticed that Google actually messed up and is using the negative of the original NASA photos. Oops is right.

  77. Just need Google Not-Earth by riflemann · · Score: 1

    So when will they release maps on Google Earth of the other planets and complete moon (without the cheese)?

    Curiout minds want to know - I could sure do with some extra terrestrial google touring.

    There's a HUGE load of further potentials with mapping - after all, it's just another type of search (plus travel planning opportunities).

  78. Moon images are inverted... by ChiefTortie · · Score: 1

    I think google has to invert their images...The surface appears to have a series of convex bumps on the surface rather than craters...If you invert the image, it correctly resembles the moon's surface...

    1. Re:Moon images are inverted... by PeterBrett · · Score: 1

      No, the colour isn't inverted. It's just that because there aren't any reference features (houses, trees etc) your visual cortex can't work out whether it's looking at concave or convex features.

      Try taking a screenshot of Google Moon, pasting in an image editor, and rotating it by 90 degrees. At some point, the convex features will start to look concave (and vice versa).

      HTH.

    2. Re:Moon images are inverted... by CoffeeJedi · · Score: 1

      no matter what i do to it, flipping or rotating, i can't make my craters go "in". i'm trying to force my brain to put the light source to the right of the image, but it doesn't work.

      --
      May you be touched by His Noodly Appendage. RAmen.
  79. MODS... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Mod up parent AC funny and mod Captain Obvious and the Humourless Squad above me redundant.

    DO YOU NEED A FUCKING LAUGHTER TRACK?

    To be fair, it was too dry a crack for an American website.

  80. If you zoom in far enough... by elrous0 · · Score: 1
    You can actually see the spot where Google overextended itself so far that investors finally started to ask "What the fuck are you doing over there?!?!"

    -eric

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  81. Re:ATHF by generic-man · · Score: 1

    Is your ego satisfied?

    --
    For more information, click here.
  82. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by a+whoabot · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    " Is it any wonder they're still living like the fucking Flintstones in predominantly Muslim countries?"

    Yeah, Singapore is like the least advanced country of all time!

  83. Scale would be nice. by lpangelrob · · Score: 1
    How far apart are the moon landing sites?

    I'm of the opinion they should have a floating scale bar somewhere on google maps... I can't tell if they only have part of the moon, if this is the entire moon, or what.

  84. Argh by dantheman82 · · Score: 1

    I'm quite disappointed. I was clicking on Apollo 11 fully expecting to find "To Here" and "From Here." Alternatively, they could supply that info to NASA to help them with their shuttle shuffle.

    A few missing pieces though - please locate the "man on the moon" and I'd like to see where the cow jumps over the moon. Plus, it would be nice if someone could build a hack to show current real estate prices on the moon.

    Now, if they could only integrate it with Google Earth...

    --
    This sig donated to Pater. Long live /.
    1. Re:Argh by CDS · · Score: 1

      Here you go (courtesy of Douglas Adams)

      1. Phone NASA. Their phone number is (731) 483-3111. Explain that it's very important that you get away as soon as possible.

      2. If they do not cooperate, phone any friend you may have in the White House (202) 456-1414 to have a word on your behalf with the guys at NASA.

      3. If you don't have any friends at the White House, phone the Kremlin (ask the overseas operator for 0107-095-295-9051). They don't have any friends there either (at least, none to speak of), but they do seem to have a little influence, so you may as well try.

      4. If that also fails, phone the Pope for guidence. His telephone number is 011-39-6-6982, and i gather his switchboard is infallible.

      5. If all these attempts fail, flag down a passing flying saucer and explain that it's vitally important you get away before your phone bill arrives.

  85. Indeterminant cheese by stuffduff · · Score: 1

    I would have thought that with the holes they were going for a swiss, but the color says cheddar. I've never seen Google have anything questionable in their art before this, but if it had been up to me I would have stuck with a real swiss image. If they really wanted to be clever about it, they could have image mapped the holes to the craters for that added surrealistic effect!

    --
    "Can there be a Klein bottle that is an efficient and effective beer pitcher?"
    1. Re:Indeterminant cheese by TopShelf · · Score: 1

      And I thought the moon was made of green cheese, anyway...

      --
      Stop by my site where I write about ERP systems & more
  86. There's always next year... by Sebastian+Jansson · · Score: 3, Informative

    They actually mention that in their blog.

  87. About doing the other planets.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I really dont want to see what is shown if you zoom all the way in on Uranus :)

    1. Re:About doing the other planets.... by BlackCobra43 · · Score: 1

      The concept of "Space Goatse" both intrigues and terrifies me.

      --
      I never spellcheck and I freely admit it. Save your karma for more worthwhile "lol erorrs" replies
  88. Craters? by GrubInCan · · Score: 1

    Is it just me, or do all the craters look like bumps.
    I've tried rotating my head to find a lighting direction which works - but can't - they are still just bumps.

  89. Eggs by PhotoGuy · · Score: 1

    There have *got* to be some cool easter eggs hidden in there somewhere. Come on people, let's find them :)

    --
    Love many, trust a few, do harm to none.
    1. Re:Eggs by foobrain · · Score: 1


      Eggs? The correct word seems to be 'cheese'...

  90. The Moon is really made by KingBahamut · · Score: 2, Funny

    Cheese....
    Need some wine and crackers to go with that.

    --
    "God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. "
  91. Look closely, not just cheese by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One can also make out what appears to be a battalion of gay niggers. Those crafty bastards will spare no one in their quest for universal domination!

  92. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by 1u3hr · · Score: 0, Offtopic
    " Is it any wonder they're still living like the fucking Flintstones in predominantly Muslim countries?"
    Yeah, Singapore is like the least advanced country of all time!

    Singapore has a Muslim minority, but most are Chinese.

    In 1988 the Ministry of Community Development reported the religious distribution to be 28.3 percent Buddhist, 18.7 percent Christian, 17.6 percent no religion, 16 percent Islam, 13.4 percent Daoist, 9 percent Hindu, and 1.1 percent other religions (Sikhs, Parsis, Jews)
  93. So Close and yet so far. by 955301 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wish they would have taken this more seriously. The moon actually have a massive number of named points of interest which would be nice to be able to look up.

    Personally, I name all of my software projects after features named during the Apollo landing missions. For a second there, I thought I might be able to provide a url in the javadocs to a map of the actual landmark for the team. While not very useful, it certainly would have been educational.

    --
    You are checking your backups, aren't you?
    1. Re:So Close and yet so far. by 955301 · · Score: 1

      And someone would confirm this for me, their contact email address for this project bounces back. So much for the feedback line.

      Here is what I sent:

      USGS has a list of named features surrounding the Apollo landing sites
      available here:

      http://planetarynames.wr.usgs.gov/moon/moonland.ht ml

      Assuming that NASA or someone has more detailed imagery of at least this
      area (given it's significance), is there any chance of having these
      points listed as well. You can always leave the rest of the moon at it's
      current dairy detail :)

      Thanks, neat idea btw.

      --
      You are checking your backups, aren't you?
    2. Re:So Close and yet so far. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I agree. It would also be nice if they had a freaking SCALE on the maps so we know how close the landings were to each other.

      Lack of a scale is the only thing keeping me from using only Google maps. It's simply amateur to leave this out.

    3. Re:So Close and yet so far. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Google apparently added scale to normal google maps about the same time thy made google moon. Go check it out: when zoomed out, it even changes as you pan because of the projection they use.

    4. Re:So Close and yet so far. by Jugalator · · Score: 1

      Yes; they don't even name the geographical features either.

      I think a mail is on its way to that mail link they provided. :-)

      --
      Beware: In C++, your friends can see your privates!
    5. Re:So Close and yet so far. by richyoung · · Score: 1
      Agreed. I was initially very excited about this - but when I got there, I found it wouldn't even allow me to zoom out enough to indicate where the Mare Tranquilitatis is on the visible disc of the moon, much less can I view any sites other than the Apollo landing sites.

      I know all this is probably available elsewhere... but I thought I was going to get the convenient and familiar Google Maps interface to the whole visible disc of the moon. Poor expectation management leads to disappointment.

      --
      6. Audible Alarm (not shown)
      -from a Cuisinart product owner's manual.
    6. Re:So Close and yet so far. by corblix · · Score: 1
      wish they would have taken this more seriously.

      Hey, there, folks: It just came out, and Google continually improves their stuff. If you have an idea for an improvement, don't complain; WRITE THEM and suggest it. I did.

    7. Re:So Close and yet so far. by Colin+Douglas+Howell · · Score: 1
      Sure it would be nice to have something more serious, but they only had a week to get it running.

      They did miss the opportunity to put in a marker for the Google Copernicus Center, though. :D

  94. It's as though a million by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    investors suddenly cried out in anguish!

  95. Mars? GPL, Mars in 3D from your browser here by mmacdona86 · · Score: 1

    The Mars Orbiter Laser Alitimeter experiment carried on the Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft produced a topographic map of the entire surface of Mars. The data for this map is available on the Internet. The Mars MOLA Viewer will download this data for you and render it as a 3-D landscape which you can "fly" through in real-time.

    It's open source (GPL), and will launch from your browser (with Java Web Start).

  96. MS response.. by dotpavan · · Score: 1

    hmmn.. I can see that you want to visit the moon, do you need my assistance? - Clippy

  97. The other moon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  98. Totally Misleading! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    There isn't one single image of Apollo Creed!

  99. Ummm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    yeah, it be alot sweeter if it just wasn't a strip of the same image repeated over and over. If you zoom out all the way you'll see what i am talking about. Still it's cool when you zoom in to far, it shows you cheese.

  100. waaaaait a minute... by Goeland86 · · Score: 1

    I knew google was ambitious, but this makes it seem like they're trying to make to take over the universe...
    I like google, but not THAT much that I won't go and watch the moon with a telescope with my own eyes in the middle of the night.

    I mean, come on, they're doing this, and now lots of people won't bother taking a look in a telescope to try and locate the landing sites...

    Google Moon took all the fun away...

    We should rename Google Moon to "Google fun-robber".

    --
    ---- I am certain of only one thing : I know nothing else.
  101. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by doubledoh · · Score: 1
    Actually, Singapore is predominantly Buddhist. Muslims comprise only 14% of the people in Singapore. You might be thinking of its neighbor, Malaysia.

    --
    I think, therefore I doh.
  102. My God by Ranger · · Score: 2, Funny

    It's full of cheese!

    --
    "You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
  103. Obviously Its a fake.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    obviously its a fake. zoom all the way in.

    everyone knows that the moon is made of green cheese

  104. Re:The Secret the Government Doesn't Want You to K by zanderredux · · Score: 1
    Exactly!

    The Government is spending billions to conquer and protect its monopoly on cheese!

    Take that, France!

  105. Backwards Shadows? by utnow · · Score: 0

    Damn you windows and your sense of 'light always comes from the top left'. For some reason I can't trick my eye into seeing the craters the way they are (dents instead of bumps) because the damn shadows are on the wrong side. lol

  106. Application Reply Email by se7en11 · · Score: 1
    Got this after I submitted my application for the lunar trip:

    Thank you for contacting Google about our Copernicus Research Center.

    We've received an overwhelming response to this opportunity and are not currently accepting additional resumes. We will, however, keep your information on file should we have an opening in the future. At the current staffing levels, we anticipate that we may need additional applicants on or around April Fool's Day in 2104. Until then, we appreciate your interest in Google and your taking the time to write us.

    Sincerely,

    The Googlunar Recruiting Team

  107. Googling the moon is fine by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 3, Funny

    But I absolutely refuse to Google Uranus!

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
    1. Re:Googling the moon is fine by dangitman · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but we renamed that planet Urectum in 2197 to end that stupid joke once and for all. ... oh, wait ... /checks calendar, discovers that it is in the form of a cheesy mobile phone, and not a floating hologram ... whoops, I posted to the wrong timeline. They really should make the submit button check for corresponding temporal locations.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  108. That's not a moon!... by Johnny+Mozzarella · · Score: 1

    It's the Death Star!

  109. Directions? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So what's the fastest route from NASA to Moon Spot A #11? We need moon.maps.google.com

  110. Re:Planets by Cro+Magnon · · Score: 2, Funny

    That might be true of Jupiter or Saturn, but I'm sure they'll find solid matter on Uranus.

    --
    Slow down, cowboy! It has been 4 hours since you last posted. You must wait another few hours.
  111. Fourmilab has been doing this for years by toby · · Score: 3, Informative

    John Walker's wonderful Earth & Moon Viewer has been around for as long as I can remember. See this page for a catalogue of formations, landing sites and other points of interest.

    --
    you had me at #!
  112. Cute by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OK, so this is pretty much an out-and-out troll, but...

    Instead of doing things like this, and your Google drink thing, why don't you spend more time trying to fix your fucking search engine?

  113. Best commercial ever by Dachannien · · Score: 2, Funny

    For thousands of years, people thought the moon was made of cheese.

    But then we went there and found out it was made of rock.

    We haven't been back since.

    Behold the power of Cheese.

  114. Re:Cheespiricy by You+Been+Rob-ed! · · Score: 0, Redundant

    But it's obviously fake! Everyone knows the moon is made of GREEN cheese!

    --
    For fun, calculate how much DDT would be lethal for you!
  115. JPL simulator by Killer+Instinct · · Score: 2, Informative

    You cant zoom in as well, but this is still worth a visit if you interested....

    --
    #include bier;
  116. Apollo ? Cmon man, man, thats not the first ! by savuporo · · Score: 1

    Check out the Old Negro Space Program
    According to this absolutely historically and politically correct documentary, Loopie Louie et al landed their modified Caddy Coup de Ville near Mare Tranquilis a full three years before Apollo, if i may.
    But sh*t woman, it was motherf*cking cold up there ...

    --
    http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.slashdot.org Errors found while checking this document as HTML5!
    1. Re:Apollo ? Cmon man, man, thats not the first ! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow, racism. How totally NOT funny.

  117. been all the way around twice by iggymanz · · Score: 1

    and didn't see any Dark Side. I'm calling baloney sausage!

  118. So Ray Liotta is made of cheese! by blankoboy · · Score: 1

    I really thought I was getting a zoomed up shot on either Bryan Adams, Ray Liotta or Manuel Noriega. That is until I zoomed out a little more. =)

  119. Urban Legends by freeweed · · Score: 4, Informative

    Another urban legend re: Google earth and maps has been circulating recently. Several people have told me that the satellite imagery is intentionally old, because after 9/11 the US gov't passed a law saying no satellite photos newer than 2 years could be provided to the general public.

    This is of course hogwash. Google will actually tell you how current their data is (can't remember how to look this up at the moment), and besides, there are MANY instances of pretty new buildings and construction (well under a year old) that show up very clearly.

    I've even shown examples of this to people who know full well what date a building/overpass/etc went up, and they still insist on parroting this legend. Urban legends die hard.

    --
    Endless arguments over trivial contradictions in books written by ignorant savages to explain thunder in the dark.
    1. Re:Urban Legends by saider · · Score: 1

      US gov't passed a law saying no satellite photos newer than 2 years could be provided to the general public.

      I thought much of the high resolution stuff was from aerial surveys used by the local government for assesing property taxes. These images most definitely have the resolution to distinguish small structures because the government wants to tax it.

      --


      Remember, You are unique...just like everyone else.
    2. Re:Urban Legends by Dominic+Burns · · Score: 1

      You've been smoking too much of that weed, freeweed. You're parroting the counter-counter-counter-counter urban legend....

      Or are you just oOparanoidOo??!!

      "oooEEEooo!"

    3. Re:Urban Legends by Gaewyn+L+Knight · · Score: 1

      At least in our area (Berrien Springs, MI) the images were shot on a Saturday at about 10am in either late July or early August.

      I know this because you can clearly see all the Seventh-Day Adventist church parking lots are full... the water tower makes a great sundial... and I had mowed a giant 'Hi!' in my field for a pilot buddy of mine to see when he flew over. :}

      In reality the only reason satellite data is that old is because: #1 it takes a while to register and stitch it and #2 the person that payed for it wants exclusive rights the first year

      --
      Telcos have alot of dark fibre in the States. Most people assume that's optical fibre...but it's actually moral fibre.
    4. Re:Urban Legends by chris+macura · · Score: 2, Informative

      Looks like you had a radioactive waste spillage in the river... green AND blue! Rad.

      http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Berrien+Springs,+MI& ll=41.936038,-86.335298&spn=0.007308,0.010131&t=k& hl=en

  120. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I'll second that about the muslims.


    And the jews.


    And the catholics.


    And the protestants.




    Monotheism of all flavours is evil and needs to be stamped out. "Freedom to believe things that are not true" is not a real freedom. Especially when the consequences of those beliefs are that you fly a plane into a building, strap explosives around your body and blow up a bus, cause millions of cases of AIDS or go around taunting an entire housing estate full of people until they start a riot.

  121. That's great and all but... by leblin · · Score: 2, Funny

    That's great and all but, where do i click to get driving directions?

  122. Relief!! by Akoma+The+Immortal · · Score: 1

    Yes relief!

    At close up, I was sure I would see an old man waving his hand and saying:

    "That is not the Moon you are looking for, err At!"

    I prefer the Cheese version..

    Happy mooning!! :-)

    --
    assert(expired(knowldege)); core dump
  123. insensitive clods by mattmentecky · · Score: 1

    Pssh, Google and their *earth centric* attitude. What, we people from other planets are just supposed to ASSUME that the word "moon" is automatically referencing the EARTH'S MOON?

  124. A scale would be nice. by dalesc · · Score: 0

    I mean, how big are those flags?

  125. Re:Cheespiricy by Backspin · · Score: 1

    Everyone knows the moon is made of GREEN cheese!

    IIRC, this saying doesn't mean that it's green as in the color green, but green as in underripe or not matured. Did you know that blackberries are red when they're green?

    --
    I'm making a .sig Beowulf cluster. I add another node each time I post.
  126. How To Increase Your Slashdot Mod Points by vigilology · · Score: 1

    1. Find obvious joke;
    2. Explain it even further for the mongs that don't understand;
    3. Wait.

    1. Re:How To Increase Your Slashdot Mod Points by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I swear it. I cannot believe that hopeless post got modded up. If this is where /.'s sense of humor is going, we're all in trouble.

  127. OLD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OLD! OLD! old!

  128. Re:Planets by justforaday · · Score: 1

    Oh, like you know anything about how planets are made...

    --
    I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
  129. (Nearly) complete list of impacts and landings by Jivecat · · Score: 2, Interesting

    My site lists as many of the impacts and landings as I could find, both Russian and U.S. Despite the good info, its interface kind of sucks, particularly in light of Google's nice one -- looks like it's time to get hacking Google Moon.

    --
    "For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for nature cannot be fooled."--Feynman
  130. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You obviously have never heard of iconoclasm.

  131. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by trentblase · · Score: 1

    Didn't anyone ever tell you not to feed the trolls? Especially after midnight!

  132. What the H!??!!! by zrk · · Score: 1

    I think we can't see the H because that's where a million, zillion ninjas are hiding.

  133. One error by JeffTL · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Imagery ©2005 NASA"?

    NASA is part of the US Federal Government, which does not hold copyrights -- its works are in the public domain.

    The correct tag would have been "©2005 Google - Imagery courtesy of NASA" or somesuch, but NASA can't hold a copyright.

    Other than that, interesting imagery with a good Easter egg.

    1. Re:One error by whizzard · · Score: 1
      NASA is part of the US Federal Government, which does not hold copyrights

      It is true that works created by the federal government are in the public domain, but the federal government can hold copyrights, because private individuals or corporations can assign them to the government.
  134. Maybe I'm warped... by Karl+Cocknozzle · · Score: 1

    ...But for April fool's day next year, I want "Google Moon", any query, to return a picture of the Google founders mooning with the caption "Billionaire Asses, Bitch!"

    But I watch a lot of Dave Chappelle, so...

    --
    Who did what now?
  135. Anybody else read the headline as... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Google Moon deButts?

  136. Worst reply,,evaaaaarrrrr. by TapeCutter · · Score: 1

    You call him a fool, he shoots you down with brilliance and you come back with...

    He did say "swing set"; you made up the "paedophile" part.

    ...demonstrating that you cannot comprehend the concept of "indirect reference". (With that in mind, I hope you don't intend to take up C programming.)

    If you replied with, say, "Touche!" you would have been both acurate and humble. To have ignored his reply would have been predictable. The reply you chose, let's just say I smell a whole lot of karma burning.

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
    1. Re:Worst reply,,evaaaaarrrrr. by Vlastyn · · Score: 1

      Shot down with brilliance? Are you kidding? The google executive said "we cannot see your swing set, and we're not trying to" in reference to privacy, that they did so to comply with government agency resquests- which could be for any number of reasons. There's nothing suggest that they're trying to protect our children or families from pedophiles, that was in the imagination of our Slashdot reader here.

    2. Re:Worst reply,,evaaaaarrrrr. by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      You call him a fool, he shoots you down with brilliance and you come back with...

      Read the names on the posts. I didn't call him a fool; he wasn't replying to me.

    3. Re:Worst reply,,evaaaaarrrrr. by 1u3hr · · Score: 1
      ...demonstrating that you cannot comprehend the concept of "indirect reference". (With that in mind, I hope you don't intend to take up C programming.)

      How could I have missed the obvious assignment
      "They have a swing set" = *"Let's rape their children";

  137. googling on the moon by todorb · · Score: 0

    will probably be called mooning :)

  138. LIARS! by switcha · · Score: 1
    I thought they said they wanted to catalog "all the information in the world"? The world!

    Here's a first broken promise. Where will the evil end? Oh, *sob*, the children!

    --
    You know what? ... A little club soda *did* get that out!
  139. Oh, it's cheese? by multi+io · · Score: 1

    I thought it was quantum foam at really high resolution.

  140. No Beta?? by lbmouse · · Score: 1

    WOW! The first Google app to make it into live production.

  141. Mars data wants to be free--and in 3D by mmacdona86 · · Score: 1

    and open-source Mars MOLA Viewer Fly through 3D rendered topographic data, global coverage, launches from your browser (Java Web Start), Linux and Windows compatible

  142. Re:Juvenile humor -- goatse moon by woodsrunner · · Score: 1

    I would have prefered more adult oriented humor -- Like when you zoom in on the moon it turns into a goatse moon!

    At least it was american colored cheese and not green, after all it is american moon!

  143. Why didn't they land on the Dark Side Of The Moon? by TAZ6416 · · Score: 1

    I assume it was of Houston losing radio contact and couldn't help if anything went wrong?

    Jonathan

    http://donkeydoeslondon.freeservers.com/

  144. moon is made out of cheese! by krunk4ever · · Score: 1

    this proves it! the moon is indeed made out of cheese. when you zoom in all the way, you can clearly see... well... cheese!

    1. Re:moon is made out of cheese! by katcoker · · Score: 1

      I too loved this little tid-bit; those crazy cats at Google are such wacky pranksters!

      --
      Max: "You mind if I drive?" Sam: "Not if you don't mind me clawing at the dash and screeching like a cheerleader."
    2. Re:moon is made out of cheese! by ppatrice · · Score: 1

      Hehe, funny :)
      What will those google guys invent then ?

      --
      A free web based PIM: http://myphp.freews.org
  145. finally by ickypoo · · Score: 1

    We have the technology. The time is right. Children are our future. We WILL blow up the moon!

  146. Re:ATHF by dontpanicgeiger · · Score: 1

    Damn no

  147. Obligatory... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    First we had Google Earth and now we have Google Moon. Who here can't wait for Google Uranus?

  148. Big hairy... moon. by traffi · · Score: 1
    Am I the only one who thought clicking on moon.google.com would produce something other than the lunar variety?

    Or to put it like dictionary.com:
    Moon: Slang. The Bared buttocks.

    But I guess that would have been buttocks.google.com.

    The production of which would undoubtedly cause yet another jump in their stock value.

    --

    Treo + Kaffi = Traffi
  149. Such a douchebag by Vlastyn · · Score: 1

    Oh yeah, and...

    Google executive said: "We cannot see your swing set, and we're not trying to. The value of more information so overwhelms its misuse that we've not had material problems there."

    Alex said: "my understanding is that google maps is purposely limited so people can't "see swingsets" in back yards (i.e. pedophiles)."

  150. So when will we see ... by jc42 · · Score: 1

    Google Middle Earth, both maps and satellite views?

    Of course, if they'd really been on the ball, on Saturday they would have announced the password that when used with the UK google maps, would unmask all the places in the Harry Potter books.

    --
    Those who do study history are doomed to stand helplessly by while everyone else repeats it.
  151. why don't you do it then? by subtropolis · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    Really, get off your high horse. Someone at google probably put this together on their own time. It's clever and a nice way to salute the anniversary. I'm sure they know all about the other interesting landing sites but could only do so much.Complaining because you don't think it's complete is very lame. If you feel so strongly about it why don't you shut yer hole and build it yourself.

    --
    "Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
    1. Re:why don't you do it then? by 955301 · · Score: 1

      I'm not on a high horse, perhaps you should try to read with a smile on your face or some other tactic to keep from transferring your cynisism to other people's thoughts.

      There are so many things wrong with your response:
      1. I'm not on an ego trip.
      2. someone probably put it together on their own time instead of, you guessed it, someone higher up giving them more leeway to get more involved in the details. Google taking the idea serously not the programmer.
      3. I'm not talking about more landing sites (duh), I'm talking about all of the observations they made while at the Apollo landing sites.
      4. I'm not complaining, I'm expressing a wish.
      5. No, I'm not shutting my hole and I have build one myself as a java app. But I don't work for Google.

      Jackass.

      But since your so sensitive, let me rephrase to avoid hurting your feelings:

      It really would be swell if you could find named surface detail that those wonderful brave American Partriots went through so much effort and risk to observe and annotate. God Bless America!

      While my own undertakings are pathetic by comparison, it's fun and enjoyable to be able to make connections with the Glorious Champion Programmers of Google and my sorry little hacks.

      God Bless though Programmers Too!

      --
      You are checking your backups, aren't you?
  152. Google Universe by cmpalmer · · Score: 1

    Pretty good, but I'm waiting for Google to take over the Celestia project, combine it with Google Earth, acquire all of NASAs imagery and mapping data, then release Google Universe.

    Imagine, smooth zooms from Olympos Mons to your house or zooming to your house, panning the camera up, and seeing a correct representation of the night sky. Or watching the ISS orbit the zoomed out view of GE.

    --
    -- stream of did I lock the front door consciousness
  153. Directions? by krunchyfrog · · Score: 0

    I don't get it. Why can't I have directions from my house to one of the Appolo's landing sites?

    --
    printf($randomline(sigs.txt) \n "-- "$randomline(authors.txt));
    -- myself
  154. except by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    slashtard + girlfriend = {0}

    1. Re:except by The+Patient · · Score: 1

      Except: some of us Slashtards predate Slashdot by a long shot, Junior(ette).

  155. Photoshop! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ;-)

  156. Since they have so much damned money... by sd_diamond · · Score: 0

    They should just buy Celestia and integrate it with Google Earth. That would be cool.

  157. Just learned something new about Christian Taliban by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 0

    Apparently it's considered blasphemy to draw a picture of that old Jew Jesus, dancing. Christians around the world are secretly or overtly cheering a new "Crusade" in Iraq and anywhere else the US can invade in the Middle East. These nuts need to get a grip. Is it any wonder they're still living like the fucking Deliverance hillbillies in the Bible Belt?

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  158. What Google Moon tells us... by wronski · · Score: 1

    The Moon is a cylinder!

  159. Shouldn't that be... by WidescreenFreak · · Score: 1

    On the moon, the old Korean Overlords welcome you by saying "All moon base belong to us"?

    --
    The Overrated mod is for reversing inappropriate, positive mods, not for voicing disagreement with a post.
  160. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by edflyerssn007 · · Score: 1

    Read some of the religious texts, you'd realize that the ones that cause problems are not actually doing that they are supposed to and can barely even be called by the name of the religion they represent. Next time you try and spout hate, do your research.

    --
    So you see what had happened was....
  161. Re:Just learned something new about Christian Tali by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Let's limit our observances to provable facts, not cariacatures. Fact: Muslims riot when they are insulted in the slightest way. Fact: Palestinian gunmen stormed the Church of the Nativity and defacated and urinated in it, with little international media attention to that fact. Fact: the Crusades were a response to Muslim harassment of Christian pilgrims in the holy lands.

  162. Seeing the remains of the lunar missions. by ChickenFan · · Score: 1

    I will be truly impressed when it's possible to zoom in close enough to see the stuff left on the moon from the missions - like the rover. I wonder if there have been any imaging missions with that kind of resolution?

    1. Re:Seeing the remains of the lunar missions. by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      There is one planned for 2008 which should be able to do this.

      You can also vaguely see the Apollo 15 landing site from the Clementine photos.

  163. Revolution by shurakai · · Score: 1

    this tool will surely revolutionize the way scientists look at the moon

  164. Re:Just learned something new about Christian Tali by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 0

    You promised "observable facts", not Christaliban malarkey. But you're a n Anonymous Christaliban Coward - your "faith based" bullshit wouldn't recognize "facts" if you observed them. Have I got a miracle for you!

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  165. Not only that... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...but there is also no "CHA" carved into it.

    this is clearly a hoax.

    (yeah, i should take the time to login, oh well.)

  166. You're wasting your time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Believe me, those of us in the Christian community have brought up these questions time and time again. And guess what, nobody has ever provided a satisfactory answer to any of them, surprise surprise. Another one you didn't mention is the fact that the Van Allen belts have lethal radiation, there is no way that humans could have passed through them even with shielding. That radiation is there for a reason!

    NASA may want to make people believe that humans have breached the realm of God but it didn't happen. The firmament is there for us to admire, not to explore. "Whatsoever you do unto the least of these, you do also unto me."

  167. driving directions by sciguy125 · · Score: 1

    Does anyone know how to get driving directions? the search bar is missing.

    --
    GE/S/P a- e++ y-- r-- s:++ d+ h! X+++ t++ C+ P+ L++ E W++ w M-- V? PS+ P+
  168. So . . . by AVryhof · · Score: 1

    Google makes an ass of themselves...

  169. Re:ATHF by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    No.

    Look: Room for Rent!

  170. You're right. by sconeu · · Score: 1

    I took a second look, and you're right. The shadowing makes it look confusing (note that all shadows are going in the same direction).

    I zoomed out, and there is an image stitch that goes right throught that image (you can see the blocking on initial zoom out).

    --
    General Relativity: Space-time tells matter where to go; Matter tells space-time what shape to be.
  171. sun.google.com and mars.google.com by 1800maxim · · Score: 1

    coming up.

    Now, the next logical step, of course, is to get moon.google.com to work with earth.google.com as well as any future iterations of the product to provide decent, clear, accurate driving directions.

    I would like to plan a vacation trip from the earth, to a solar flare, while stopping by to check out a crater on the moon, and perhaps stop by mars on the way back.

  172. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by Dogtanian · · Score: 1

    Nah... feeding the trolls would be "how dare you say something so bigoted, yadda, yadda...."

    I was taking the piss out of what he was saying, not responding to the actual bait. If it had been a Warner Bros cartoon, I would have been feeding him a fizzing bomb that would have blown up inside his stomach and made smoke come out of his ears :)

    It was either going to get modded as funny or offtopic, but who cares :-/

    BTW, that "after midnight" rule is useless unless you know when the prohibition ends.

    --
    "Slashdot - News and Chat Sites Deviant". (Click "homepage" link above for details).
  173. Check again by jgoemat · · Score: 1

    Zoom in all the way on the google moon map, then behold.

  174. Thank You, Google... by mcmediaman · · Score: 1

    I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to Google for validating my belief that cheese really does come from the moon...

  175. Re:Just learned something new about Christian Tali by Peyna · · Score: 1

    Fact: the Crusades were a response to Muslim harassment of Christian pilgrims in the holy lands.

    Most of the early Crusades were attempts to get the Holy Land back from the Muslims. Several of them had nothing to do with Muslims; and quite a few were also against Jews and other Christians.

    Crusade is just the Christian word for "Jihad." Your attempts to minimalize and rationalize the Crusades is pretty pathetic. (It's kind of interesting actually, to most Westerners, a "crusade" is any worthy pursuit, and a "jihad" is a misguided narrow-minded slaughter of innocents. To Muslims, the opposite connotations hold true.)

    Take it for what it really is: a shameful part of Christian past for which we are still answering today. Germany has managed to shake its history of Nazism and anti-semitism through an incredible campaign. Certain Christian groups can't seem to admit that their ancestors were wrong to have the Crusades, and therefore we all continue to suffer.

    One of many causes of significant problems we face today.

    Think of how different Muslim/Christian relations (and hence terrorism) would be if we didn't have the Crusades. However, you can't change the past, but we ought to stand up and denounce it more publicly.

    --
    What?
  176. Eveybody knows the cheese is green by wsanders · · Score: 1

    Is this an English-language thing or, does everyone know the Moon is really made of "fromage vert"? They got the color wrong.

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"
  177. Umm... might be a bad idea... by pkinetics · · Score: 1
    Let me get this straight: Point personal laser pointing device into the sky and wave around at the moon?

    As I recall, aren't they arresting people for this?

    Lasers + Planes = JAIL

    Honestly your honor, I was trying to hit the moon.

    1. Re:Umm... might be a bad idea... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Give me a fucking break.

    2. Re:Umm... might be a bad idea... by dangitman · · Score: 1, Offtopic
      Lasers + Planes = JAIL Honestly your honor, I was trying to hit the moon.

      This is pretty damn scary, that you would actually go along with such an Orwellian "thought crime" mode. Truly, the terrorists have already won. They don't have to attack America, because people like yourself will happily repress themselves based on the government's over-reaction to "terra" attacks on "freedom."

      No longer do you have to commit a crime to be arrested or be accused of terrorism or mischief. No longer does there actually have to be a law against something for it to be illegal. Seems that things now have to explicitly permitted by law, rather than prohibited. You basically had better not get out of bed this morning unless the Bush administration gives you written legal permission.

      Welcome to the United States of fascism. *Note: large corporations and politicians are exempt from gaining legal permission, or breaking legal prohibitions. It's their duty to do the things you personally aren't allowed to.

      --
      ... and then they built the supercollider.
  178. Re:Just learned something new about Christian Tali by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Nazism has nothing to do with the crusades. The anti-semeticism that came with Nazism played off of old anti-semetic feels (which tends to be universal to everyone in the middle east and europe despite religon) but with new rational.

  179. Got to be good looking... by Beltway+Prophet · · Score: 1

    I was curious, too, and had a look around the web. The only images I could find from Clementine were 1 pixel == 1 km, though some National Academy of Sciences site says they took the surface at 100m to 400m per pixel (still way too big to see anything left on the surface).

    Even Hubble can only "resolve objects as small as 280 meters" across (not sure how that translates to pixels per unit). Which is amazing, considering the views of the universe it's given us. Then again, the universe is a bit bigger than 280 meters...

  180. Just as I suspected by skitheboat · · Score: 1

    I see the cheese but no sign of the mouse, not even any droppings...

  181. We Like The Moon! by objekt · · Score: 1
    --
    -- Boycott Shell
  182. Really? by AlysseumWarrior · · Score: 0

    All i see is a a rather sad skeleton clutching a towel!

  183. This may have been posted already... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    http://badastronomy.com/bad/tv/foxapollo.html

  184. Safari still not supported by Liquid+Len · · Score: 1

    Still no support for Safari. I find this kinda strange. And yes, I do have Firebird installed on my machine, but still, I wonder what prevents Safari from being supported. Does anybody have a clue ?

    1. Re:Safari still not supported by DLWormwood · · Score: 1
      Still no support for Safari. I find this kinda strange.

      Funny, it works for me, easter egg and all. I'm running 1.3 (v312) on my iBook here. What version are you using?

      --
      Those who complain about affect & effect on /. should be disemvoweled
    2. Re:Safari still not supported by 5plicer · · Score: 1

      Works fine for me. I'm running Safari Version 2.0 (412.2) on Mac OS 10.4.2 (Build 8C46).

      --
      The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
    3. Re:Safari still not supported by Liquid+Len · · Score: 1

      Yes, mine is severly outdated. I've just noticed they do support Safari 1.2.4+... Next time, I'll check more seriously before I whine.

  185. what the hell? by sargosis · · Score: 1

    did anyone notice that if you zoom in all the way...it's a picture of cheese?

    --
    for free wallpapers, visit Sargosis.com
    1. Re:what the hell? by Legion303 · · Score: 1

      Nope. You're the very first. Congratulations!

  186. Re:Just learned something new about Islam... by tfcdesign · · Score: 1

    Thanks for the rational thought!

  187. Actually... by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

    I have a friend who is a bit of a conspiracy nut. It's entertaining to listen to some of it. He told me a couple of "fake moon-landing" conspiracies that are variations of this.

    (I know, I'll probably burn in Karma hell...)

    If you will, the theory is that we never sent men to the moon because space-suit technology was just not up to the task, but we did send equipment. Thus, you will find lunar modules on the moon. But they were all remote controlled. It was quite obvious that we had the capability to land things on the moon--the Surveyor missions showed us that. But there were never any people in them.

    Signals were sent to the moon from the fake landing site via lasers and sent back to Earth via radio. Thus, most of NASA didn't know, either--they were sending signals to the moon and receiving replies (yes, the astronauts were hearing mission control in real-time so the delay worked).

    My favorite variation, though, is that we did land on the moon--just not in 1969. So all the missions to the moon weren't faked--just the early ones in order to hit Kennedy's "by the end of this decade" time-frame.

    Essentially, the politicans, the military, and it's contractors knew that if they didn't hit the end of the decade deadline, there'd be a real public malaise and people might just give up on the project, especially after we had tried so hard. Consider that the Soviet Union gave up on being the second nation on the moon.

    Remember the Vietnam war was going on and the popularity of the US Government was at an all-time low. So Apollos 11 and 12 were staged. Again, the same idea as above (ie, we landed equipment but no people).

    They started up the PR campaign to let everyone know that 11 would be landing on the moon so that when you saw the grainy black-and-white blobs coming down the ladder with "Live from the Moon" emblazoned underneath, you'd believe it.

    Apollo 12's camera "conveniently" got fried shortly after landing--sorry, no TV images. Apollo 13 didn't land. So it was one of the later missions--perhaps Apollo 14--that actually put men on the moon.

    Personally, I think this is the "conspiracy nuts" trying back-pedal in the face of overwhelming evidence. But it is an entertaining concept...

  188. Apollo 11 is just fine, but... by narcc · · Score: 1

    Where can I find TMA-1?

  189. So maybe you'd be a good person to ask - by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Who write "tha moon rulz #1", on the hood of my car, with a key?

  190. That's just cheesey by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Don't forget to tip your waitress....

  191. Nice knee jerk response. by Quiet_Desperation · · Score: 1
    Explain how I made fun of them. Go on. Let's hear that tortured logic.

    "Mentally handicapped" is a very broad and generic term.

  192. You didn't slashdot Google did you? by Snaller · · Score: 1

    Impossible to connect at the moment..

    --
    If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
  193. Re:Just learned something new about Christian Tali by Peyna · · Score: 1

    You made the wrong connection. My point was the ability to overcome a shameful past, not that the Crusades and the Holocaust were somehow similar in their purpose and design.

    --
    What?
  194. Re: [OT] sig (was: moon is made out of cheese!) by demon · · Score: 1

    Love the sig.

    --

    Sam: "That was needlessly cryptic."
    Max: "I'd be peeing my pants if I wore any!"
  195. Google Earth photo of my house is 5 months old by Traf-O-Data-Hater · · Score: 1

    Google Earth's satellite photo of my house in Brisbane, Australia is less than 5 months old. I was covering the roof of a shed in my backyard with 3 x 1 m corrugated sheetmetal; I had done two panels in January / February and left the third off for a few months. The photo was taken in that time and the two panels are clearly visible. So they don't always have old images.

  196. "Educated" idiots by howlingmoki · · Score: 1
    Yeah, and there are still people out there who think the world is flat and only 6000 years old.

    Fark 'em.

  197. Something odd about google's image? by Kalminko · · Score: 1

    This might have been brought up already, but has anyone noticed that both the right and left sides of the image seem to blend together! Just seems a little odd to me. You need to zoom out to see where the image is supposed to be cut off, but it is blended. Just an observation!

  198. Nice priorities by Namarrgon · · Score: 1
    Great, thank you Google. Now we've got the whole Moon covered, but I still can't see my house!

    </grumble mutter="mf gng rnk...">

    --
    Why would anyone engrave "Elbereth"?
  199. Nonsense by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0


    Not only is the moon made of green cheese, but Google will indeed open their indexing July 20th, 2069 - 3 years after Microsoft did it - very sloppy.

    John Titor.

  200. you were complaining by subtropolis · · Score: 1

    At least, that's what i got from your subject line.

    The thing is, the programmers at google have a lot of time and resources gifted to them in order to play. Obviously, someone there thought it would be neat to put this together for the anniversary of the first moon landings. Obviously, it's a bit of a hack. I think it's a pretty cool thing for someone there to have done. I also think it's fantastic for the company to put it live.

    However, i do not have a problem with the fact that it does not locate many of the fascinating spots on the moon. I don't care that it does not include the entire surface of the moon. I'm not bothered that the resolution isn't down to 1 meter. I am, however, bothered by the cynicism (you think i'm being cynical?!?) that pervades many of the follow-up posts to articles about somebody doing something neat just for the hell of it.

    I'll say it once again: if you really think this should be expanded upon, get off your ass and do it instead of complaining that it's so close and yet so far. Personally, i agree that a google moon could be amazing. I've even thought of a few more ideas today. However, you showed a complete lack of respect in your post.

    Jackass yourself. Asshat.

    --
    "Our interests are to see if we can't scale it up to something more exciting," he said.
  201. Jesus Christ in a chicken basket! Holy Living Fuck by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Holy Fucking Shit! Google Maps the Fucking Moon.

    Zoom in on the fucking moon! Cannot fucking believe it.

  202. Ian writes??? by 5plicer · · Score: 1

    I submitted the exact same story nearly 6 hours earlier (a few minutes after Google launched the site)... Blast! Oh well, it's not like I actually expected my story to be posted anyway...

    --
    The bits on the bus go on and off... on and off... on and off...
    1. Re:Ian writes??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is slashdot, not Fark.

      I submitted it too, but mine had a funnier headline.

  203. Browsers by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This stupid thing works only
    with supported browsers
    ie. no Konqueror. Shame on you, Google.

  204. Re:So when's Mars coming up? - Check out WorldWind by g.a.g · · Score: 1

    Mars (as well as the Moon and even the Death Star II) are available for NASA's WorldWind toy. It's very much like Google Earth, but for some reason or other, I like it better. If only they could get better resolution pics...

    See: worldwind.arc.nasa.gov .

    --
    Hurricane Application Group, Dept of Meteorology Control, Ministry of Proactive Defense
  205. Didn't Kansas already update the Periodic Table? by cfeagans · · Score: 1
  206. Please ignore the above Post.... by cfeagans · · Score: 1

    That's what I get for reading more than one /. article at a time....It was supposed to go on ther periodic table article

    Sorry...

  207. Ever noticed stars are correct in Google earth bg? by wsanders · · Score: 1

    If you zoom all the way out, to an eye alt of 39400+ miles, and place India pretty much centered and north side up, you will be able to see Orion. The rest of the major constellations are there, with a sprinking of random background stars.

    --
    Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish, and he'll say "WHERE'S MY FISH, YOU IDIOT?"