Regarding Neil Armstrong and the Moon landing, three big conspiracy theories have arisen and are going to be reviewed. The first being that the American flag placed on the moon was waving on the lunar surface with no apparent atmosphere. The second and most odd conspiracy theory is that during the Apollo mission, there were no stars in the photographs picturing the moon. In addition to the first and second theory, there is one more that goes into how certain shadows on the moon looked inaccurate (Launius, “Denying the Apollo Moon Landings” 4-5). However, the theory which is most likely to have happened is the moon landing being real.

        The first theory suggests that the moon landing was faked since the American flag placed on the moon was waving. Since this theory arose, many individuals have noticed that the flag shown started waving when no astronauts were touching the flag (Perlmutter and Dahmen 244). Therefore, “it must provide proof that the photos were staged inside and that the waving of the flag was caused by air conditioning” (244). This theory cannot work because, “the flagpole was made from a lightweight, pliable aluminum. Even after an astronaut would let go, the pole would continue to vibrate without any atmosphere” (244). The claim about the moon landing being staged inside is not viable because there is nothing to back it up. This theory is not well thought out and lacks evidence.

        The second theory argues that if there were no stars seen in the photographs then the moon landing must have been falsified. According to an article, several individuals stated that “because of illustrations and movies that depict the Moon, there have to be visible stars in the capture of the real-life moon” (Attivissimo 86). This meant that the people who watched the films that replicated the moon believed that was what it truly looked like. Another argument claims, “On the moon, with no atmosphere, the black sky must have been full of stars” (Perlmutter and Dahmen 238). However, these theories can be contradicted by the fact that “there are no stars in the moon photographs simply because there shouldn’t be any” (238). The article further explains this by stating that “if anyone noticed how bright a full Moon is and how it blocks out the stars in the night sky, just think how bright it must be when standing on that Moon” (Attivissimo 85). This quote states that because the moon is so bright on the surface, it blocks out all stars. Therefore, this theory has no substance.

       In addition, another theory is that shadows on the moon looked unnatural, therefore, suggesting that the moon landing was faked. Through several readings, it is shown that there were “multiple light sourced used in the Apollo photographs” (Wilhelm 179). Moreover, several argue that the shadows casted in the photographs “do not appear to run parallel, and therefore, argued that multiple light sources were used in a film studio.” Yet, another version of this theory states that “an artificial light source was used since the shadows are cast at different angles” (Perlmutter and Dahmen 239). However, due to some investigations and experiments with various viewing angles, one group of individuals concluded that it is possible for unparallel shadows to show in pictures (Wilhelm 180). Therefore, this theory is not feasible.

        Neil Armstrong and the moon landing continues to be a controversial topic to many people in today's society. The case remains a question to many although evidence is there to prove the moon landing being real. The flag showing signs of movement regardless of having no atmosphere was confusing. However, evidence stated that, “NASA knew there was no wind on the moon” (Perlmutter and Dahmen 1). Moreover, NASA made the flag where it would be forced to slightly move to give it a wave-like appearance (1). Also, no stars being shown in the photographs located on the moon left people suspicious. Regarding an article, it stated cameras cannot capture the stars as the moon's surface is too bright to capture on a daylight camera (1). Also, the shadows on the moon looked unparallel. However, it is just a myth and to prove it several experiments were taken to show the sun makes parallel and unparallel shadows (Wilhelm 180). Much evidence is proven to back up the moon landing being real.