Is it mathematically feasible that the moon is hollow?

[Chimps]

Is it mathematically feasible that the moon is hollow?

Many people say that the moon has been hollowed out, and even the astronauts who have visited have also said that the moon 'rings' like a bell, suggesting it is hollow.

Mathematically, is it possible that the moon is indeed hollowed out, presumably by an extra terrestrial race?

 

[russ_watters]

No. The question doesn't even really make sense. Anyone can build a tunnel anywhere, but to be actually hollow? The moon is made of rock. It has a certain mass and besides having a much lower mass if it was hollow, it would also collapse under its own weight.

And I'd be surprised if the claim about astronauts saying the moon "rings like a bell" isn't misrepresented. It is, at the very least, a wrong conclusion since an object doesn't have to be hollow to ring like a bell.

 

[Chimps]

No. The question doesn't even really make sense. Anyone can build a tunnel anywhere, but to be actually hollow? The moon is made of rock. It has a certain mass and besides having a much lower mass if it was hollow, it would also collapse under its own weight.

And I'd be surprised if the claim about astronauts saying the moon "rings like a bell" isn't misrepresented. It is, at the very least, a wrong conclusion since an object doesn't have to be hollow to ring like a bell.

Well, it was just something I was told.

I don't believe it myself, but I was hoping someone could confirm if it was possible.

 

[Upisoft]

Many people say that the moon has been hollowed out, and even the astronauts who have visited have also said that the moon 'rings' like a bell, suggesting it is hollow.

Ringing like a bell? You know there is no air, right? Any sound wave had to go trough all that lunar dust and the boots of the astronaut's space suit. That means only low frequency sounds. Someone is probably playing joke on you.

 

[Robot B9]

Yes it is structurally possible to have large hollow objects as long as gravitational stresses to not exceed the strength limits of what ever the object is made of.

But is the Earth's moon hollow? No. Seismic studies based on instruments put on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts prove that the Moon is not hollow. Calculations based on gravity and density also say the Moon is solid.

It is also not made of cheese.

 

[Phobos]

I'd be curious to know where the aliens hid all that mass from the moon's interior (and why!). They must have also reinforced the surface to withstand meteorite impacts and the continual deformations from tidal interactions with the Earth. ;)
But perhaps our future colonization of the moon should consider some subsurface habitation...it would help protect against radiation, temperature variations, and meteorites. Plus, the cheese is on the inside.

 

[Janus]

Is it mathematically feasible that the moon is hollow?

Many people say that the moon has been hollowed out, and even the astronauts who have visited have also said that the moon 'rings' like a bell, suggesting it is hollow.

This is an example of how things can get distorted after being repeated several times rom source to source.

The "ringing" referred to is seismic ringing, something that you would expect for a solid object after a large enough impact.

The Apollo astronauts left behind equipment to detect seismic activity on the Moon.

The LM of Apollo XII and the S-IVB stage of Apollo XIII both impacted the Moon causing seismic ringing that was measured by the equipment. Thus the Moon, struck by these objects, continued to reverberate for some time afterward. (It "rang like a bell".)

So some people hear "rang like a bell", and think that since a bell is hollow, this is what is meant, Add in that Apollo equipment detected the vibrations caused by other pieces of Apollo equipment hitting the Moon, and after enough times of being passed from person to person, it becomes: "The Astronauts that landed on the Moon said that it rang like it was hollow".

 

[Vanadium 50]

the S-IVB stage of Apollo XIII ... impacted the Moon

Only part of that mission to make it to the destination.

 

[davenn]

Janus ... The "ringing" referred to is seismic ringing, something that you would expect for a solid object after a large enough impact.

yes exactly, and us guys in seismology say the same thing of the Earth after large earthquakes. The Earth can resonate for a number of days as the lower freq seismic waves rebound around its interior

Dave

 

[qraal]

Is it mathematically feasible that the moon is hollow?

Only thing strong enough is diamond, but it's just a bit denser (3.5 vs 3.34) than the Moon, thus if it's "hollow" the hollow isn't very big. Underground bases make more sense and would be nearly impossible to find without an extensive seismic survey of the whole Moon. There's plenty of weird quasi-geometric crater clusters on the Moon that *might* be old bases, but currently no compelling evidence to believe they're anything but natural. Check out Alexei Arkhipov's work on this topic if you want more information.

Many people say that the moon has been hollowed out, and even the astronauts who have visited have also said that the moon 'rings' like a bell, suggesting it is hollow.

"Ringing like a bell" refers to seismic activity. Earth's solid parts "ring like a bell" too. What doesn't ring so well is the fluid bits, which the Moon seems to lack in significant amounts. The Moon rings *because* it is solid - and more solid, proportionally, than the Earth.

Mathematically, is it possible that the moon is indeed hollowed out, presumably by an extra terrestrial race?

Why bother? Makes no sense. Not saying that ETs couldn't make a Moon-sized space-ship, but our Moon isn't it. Only sensationalists out to sell books keep repeating these old tropes, but such claims are bad Sci-Fi, not actual science.

 

[Chronos]

The moon does not have a liquid core. That was the point about the 'ringing' thing. The moon is hollow - priceless.