Apollo 16 EVA 3 - House Rock Anomalies

Max Peck wrote:Hi easynow, that's an interesting video about the Apollo 16 flashes on the Moon. "Meteor impacts" are the most likely explanation...?  lol

Hey Max : )

Thanks for watching the video and they do go on to say the flashes were never explained.

You have to wonder though, If they weren't meteor impacts, then what is the explanation ??

So I was looking at this video again about the EVA-3 Shadow Rock anomalies we were discussing. You were saying:

"I like the part .... when the astronaut passes though the FOV .... and the rock somehow gets brighter ! ...."

The brightness effect you mentioned was puzzling me at first (see above) but now that I've taken a break and looked at this video again, I think I know what is happening. It's not just the "rock" that gets brighter when John Young crosses the camera's FOV - the entire scene gets brighter. I think what we are seeing at that moment is actually an example of the GCTA TV system's automatic brightness/contrast adjustment system.

Because the astronaut crosses the FOV very close to the camera, the entire scene goes "dark" and the TV system is trying to compensate for this by increasing the brightness, so that is why we see that portion of Shadow Rock "light up" as it were. It also occurs to me now that, when John Young is past the camera and no longer blocking the view - the scene momentarily becomes very bright because the TV system needs a few moments to "switch back" and turn the brightness down again.

Good work Max, that makes sense and you might be correct but do we know for a fact the camera had an automatic adjustment ? Just wondering because I'm not sure.

As this happens, you see the camera panning to the right very quickly - presumably to prevent us from seeing too much of Shadow Rock when the brightness is high enough to spot details like the ones pointed out in the frame grab above. It's all very suspicious isn't it; I can't wait to get my hands on some better quality images.  

The camera pan may just be reactions from the object recognition system ?

Either way, ... Yes I agree it's ALL extremely suspicious especially when you see images like these...

AS16-116-18670 - 168:36:09 Charlie ran out of film before he could get a soil sample from under Shadow Rock. Charlie is leaning on the rock as he gets the sample.
Link - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/AS16-116-18670.jpg

AS16-116-18671 - John stepped to his left to get this stereo companion to 18670
Link - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/AS16-116-18671.jpg


168:36:09 Duke: Oh, that's okay. Look at this!
During Charlie's next transmission, John takes a cross-Sun stereopair from the south that shows Charlie and the rock face he is examining. These pictures are AS16-116- 18670 and 18671. John then runs back to the Rover and goes off-camera to the left.
Link - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16.sta13.html

Suspicious because in those images, the suspicious areas are not shown ? ; )

Just for visual purposes, here's the video frame without the markings.

https://i.servimg.com/u/f39/15/84/15/12/house_10.jpg

Video link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcJ8d_V35xU

@ 0.39 mark ... Why do I hear CAPCOM say something about grabbing the rock handles ??

Do you hear that too ?

And ... if a rock has handles is it a rock ?   


Not sure of the perspectives, but here's an image of Shadow Rock


HR - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/AS16-106-17393HR.jpg

Frames 17392 and 17393 show Shadow Rock with Smoky Mountain in the background.
Link - http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a16/a16pan1682149.html

Hi easynow,

Thanks for watching the video and they do go on to say the flashes were never explained.

You have to wonder though, If they weren't meteor impacts, then what is the explanation ??

I think the meteor impact theory is possible but kind of a stretch to believe in. Meteor impacts would have to occur very frequently for such a "coincidence" to happen. I mean what are the odds of (1) a meteor arriving at the Moon during an Apollo mission, (2) this happening while the CM is in orbit AND is also coincidentally passing over the impact zone when it hits, and (3) all of this happening while the CM pilot is making surface observations and not doing something else, enabling him to actually see the impact happening on the surface ? Come on... 

It has been suggested that the lunar flashes may be caused by outgassing or volcanic activity (?!) and if it's not that, well then what could they be? I don't think anybody really knows and what amazes me is that lights and flashes on the Moon are reportedly also seen from down here on Earth...


About the Shadow Rock TV scene:

...do we know for a fact the camera had an automatic adjustment ? Just wondering because I'm not sure.

Yes we do. The Apollo GCTA TV camera had an integrated system called ALC - Automatic Light Control.

Automatic Light Control
The process by which the illumination incident upon the face of a pickup device is automatically adjusted as a function of scene brightness.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_video_terms#Automatic_Light_Control

Ground-Commanded Television Assembly (GCTA) Operations and Checkout Manual (rev. Jan-1972).
Section 1.3 - Manual Controls
Automatic Light Control (ALC) - A 3-position switch (PEAK, REMOTE, and AVERAGE) at the rear end of the camera controls ALC operation for peak or average scene luminance. The REMOTE position permits ground control of the ALC function, and selection of operation on peak or average luminance. The switch is spring-loaded and returns to the center (REMOTE) position when not being actuated.

Section 4.4.1. - ALC Mode
ALC PEAK and ALC AVERAGE commands operate a latching relay in the CTV [Color Television Camera] to control operation of the ALC and AGC [Automatic Gain Control] circuits. In ALC PEAK, detectors in the ALC/AGC circuits are set to provide 100 percent video level for the brightest object in the scene. This mode is used for viewing astronauts, the LM, LRV, Earth, and to pan the horizon. ALC AVERAGE switches the ALC/AGC detectors to provide a 60 percent video level for the averaged scene. The AVERAGE mode is used for viewing the lunar terrain and to provide visibility into shadow areas.

http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/GCTA-Manual.pdf

During camera operation, the ALC is constantly working to optimize the output picture by making small adjustments to the brightness, and whenever there is a major change in the scene being filmed, you can clearly see the ALC at work. For example when the scene is shifted suddenly or when bright objects (like astronauts) enter and exit the field of view, the adjustments in brightness are quite noticeable - like the example I mentioned where John Young crosses the FOV very close to the camera.

The camera pan may just be reactions from the object recognition system ?

Eeerm... how ? You mean like the camera pans away on its own because of what is happening in the scene ? That would be cool but I don't think the DRR system could do that.  
The camera was controlled remotely from Earth so I think it's just Ed Fendell moving the camera.

Yes I agree it's ALL extremely suspicious especially when you see images like these...

Yeah he just happened to aim at Charlie's feet when he took those two photographs I guess. "Charlie and the rock face he is examining" ?? All we see are his legs and his left arm... lol

@ 0.39 mark ... Why do I hear CAPCOM say something about grabbing the rock handles ??

I think he says "samples" or at least that's what I'm hearing, it's difficult to make out. Maybe you're hearing what you want to hear because in the TV stills it really looks like the rock has "handles"... that area looks really weird. The Hasselblad image you posted is pretty close in terms of perspective I think - looking at the shadow it is more or less the same angle, not the same but it should be close enough to do a comparison. I don't see anything special in the photograph, but do the details of that boulder look the same to you as they do in the TV footage ?

Max 

Excellent reply Max Peck          

Max Peck wrote:I don't think anybody really knows and what amazes me is that lights and flashes on the Moon are reportedly also seen from down here on Earth.

The Moon is crawling with Aliens and could be the explanation, but imo it's also possible it has something to do with Transient Lunar Phenomena.

About the Shadow Rock TV scene:
Yes we do. The Apollo GCTA TV camera had an integrated system called ALC - Automatic Light Control.

Nice work and thank you for posting that information !

Eeerm... how ? You mean like the camera pans away on its own because of what is happening in the scene ?

Yes and I have no proof of course, but I firmly believe that's a definite possibility.

Yeah he just happened to aim at Charlie's feet when he took those two photographs I guess. "Charlie and the rock face he is examining" ?? All we see are his legs and his left arm... lol

And of course at that precise moment, the camera just happens to run out of film !

Verry suspicious indeed.

I think he says "samples" or at least that's what I'm hearing, it's difficult to make out. Maybe you're hearing what you want to hear because in the TV stills it really looks like the rock has "handles"... that area looks really weird.

Maybe and no the details seen in the video verses the still images definitely don't match.

Why is the question  

Here's a video clip (enhanced by LunaCognita) that could possibly show something anomalous on the Lunar surface. I'm not sure what it really is ... so you decide

easynow wrote:

Lobachevsky crater Anomaly seen in AS16-121-19407



Link - http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/apollo/apollo16/html/as16-121-19407.html

Post Link - https://spacetime.forumotion.com/t1692-lobachevsky-crater#2640

Video with perspective enhancements ...


Unusual Objects Inside the Lobachevskiy crater
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ZEhQmlkYw