Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
Unfortunately, no. No terrestrial telescope can see even the much larger decent modules. First the atmosphere mucks up the resolution. Second would be the aperture needed.
Even the Hubble 94.5-inch mirror outside of the atmosphere can only detect objects about 300 feet wide at the distance to the moon.
The largest dimension of the Ascent Model is just over 14 feet.
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Yes, you can clearly see the effect of the atmosphere in my videos. I am certain one could not make out any module-sized objects on the surface. If my math is correct, an object that size - even at the Moon's perigee - would have an apparent angular size of 0.0024 arc seconds.
But, I still wonder if one could detect the movement of an object that size if it is in orbit around the Moon. Probably not, I suppose - for the same reasons. Oh, well.