AN enthusiastic amateur photographer who shared her photos of last weekend’s Wolf Moon with the Chronicle has since gone on record as saying she believes the actual 1969 moon landings were fake.

Local snapper Luna Lykes was out and about snapping pics of the moon and told the Chronicle, “Pictures of the moon always go down well on social media. People love a celestial event, and the Wolf Moon is a biggie. But it struck me that when I was taking pictures of the big heavenly globe, how do we know it’s even real? I mean, everyone knows the moon landings were faked.”

When asked exactly what she meant by that, Luna elaborated, “I wasn’t even born in July 1969 when Buzz Aldrin stuck the old stars and stripes into the moon, and Neil Armstrong made his giant leap for mankind.

“I wasn’t one of the millions of people worldwide watching history being made as America put the first man on the so-called moon, but I have since watched archive footage, and something about the whole affair just doesn’t sit right with me.”

Although Luna insists she is not one for flights of fancy or conspiracy theories in general, she still believes that when it comes to the moon landings, there’s definitely something fishy about it.

She explained her unusual viewpoint by saying, “The photographs and footage of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin prancing around on the moon all come from one source - NASA! Now you might be tempted to say, ‘So what! Big deal!’ Well, here’s the thing - where’s the independent verification to say it really happened? Do you see how easy it would be to fake something when there’s no one else around to question the official version of events?”

When asked why NASA would stoop so low as to fool the world about such a momentous event? Luna explained she believes it was because they wanted to get one over on the Russians.

“The space race was in full throttle just prior to the moon landings, and the Americans wanted to win that particular two-horse race at all costs, and so they ended up playing dirty to get the result they badly wanted,” explained Luna.

The skeptic added, “Think I’m wrong? Well, check out the footage of Buzz Aldrin sticking the flag in the moon. Notice anything peculiar about it? Look closely, and you’ll see the flag is waving as if a gentle breeze is blowing, which, as we all know, is impossible on the moon where no wind ever blows.”

Luna said that NASA explained away this little oddity by stating that Buzz was twisting the flagpole to get it to wedge into the moon’s soil, and it is this that caused the flag to move.

“But I don’t think so! Here’s what I and thousands like me think.” snapped Luna.

“The moon landings were filmed in a studio and they forgot to account for little things such as a cool breeze.

“And here’s another interesting nugget of information for you to chew on. In his 1968 film, ‘2001: A Space Odyssey,’ which was prior to the Apollo 11 landings in 1969, filmmaker Stanley Kubrick recreates an artificial space-like set which looks exactly like the real deal. Coincidence? I think not!”

Luna also stressed, “If it was that easy to get to the moon in the 1960s, by now you’d think they’d be organising day trips to that big lump of lunar rock?”

She added, “In case you still remain unconvinced, here’s one more solid gold and cast-iron reason why I believe the Apollo 11 landings are about as real as saying the moon is made out of cheese or that fish can ride a bicycle.

“In the photos taken by Apollo astronauts, no stars are visible. Sounds incredible, doesn’t it? Here they are, in the middle of space, and there’s not one single star to be seen. It’s just a big black void. What on earth is that all about? Especially when you consider stars should always be visible and exceptionally bright on the moon because there are no clouds or atmospheric conditions.”

When asked about the 842 pounds of moon rocks brought back by the Apollo missions and the Soviet Union’s independent verification that the Apollo landings were real, Luna snarled, “Poppycock! I know what I know. And what I know is real.”

No matter what side of the moon you fall on, the dark or light, here are some pics of last weekend’s action for you to lose yourself in.