The Wildest Apollo 11 Moon Landing Conspiracy Theories, Debunked – History Channel

In images from the moon landing, it is possible to see certain objects even though they are in shadow. Skeptics argue that if the sun were the only source of light, this wouldn’t be the case. Therefore, the fact that you can see some objects in shadow must be the result of special Hollywood lighting.

The problem with this theory is that although the sun is the main source of illumination on the moon, it isn’t the only source of illumination. Another source is the lunar ground, which reflects the sun’s light. In the Apollo 11 pictures, “the sunlight is being scattered or reflected off the ground every which way, and some of it—a small fraction but enough to be able to see—scatters into the shadows,” Fienberg says.

This is why, in some images, you can make out a plaque that Armstrong and Aldrin left on the moon even though it’s lying in shadow.