ANALYSIS OF POSSIBLE LUNIK III PICTURE HOAX,
Abstract
Speculations are made regarding the credibility of the charges of the 1960 magazine articles that the pictures of the back side of the moon taken by the Lunik III payload may have been faked. The suggestion is made that at the time that Lunik III broadcast its many pictures, it is likely that, because of the great distance and low transmitter power, the signal-to-noise ratio was to low that no two of the resulting pictures looked alike. Because of interference and noise the pictures would be distorted and blotchy. The best procedure in the presence of noise is to use a statistical approach and to determine, from many samples, the most likely shape and location of each formation. A composite picture was most likely made that would represent the best, or most probable, view of the back of the moon. The composite was then annotated with the names and descriptions of the physical features. The two other released pictures were retouched in such a way as to resemble this picture and at the same time illustrate typical results from each of the two lenses.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 1960
- Accession Number
- AD0616646
Entities
People
- Merton E. Davies
Organizations
- RAND Corporation