Temporary Notes

Then, there is the story (origin unknown) of the astronomers who transmitted a radar signal to Mars in order to measure the distance between Earth and Mars. 

A bystander who was observing the proceedings inquired whether the astronomers were waiting for the return signal at the transmission point.  The astonomers answered in the affirmative. 

The bystander commented that considering Mars is

    a.  approximately 45,000,000 miles away and

    b.  it would take the radar signal approximately 40 minutes to make the round trip and

    c.  the Earth is rotating at around 1,040 miles an hour at the equator,

wouldn't their present position on the Earth be removed about 685 miles to the east from the transmission point, too far for them to properly receive the return signal?  [Not to mention being a little over 44,000 miles further along Earth’s orbital path.] 

The astronomers seemed dumfounded, apologized for such an obvious oversight, then called another observatory to their west and asked them to receive the returning radar signal. [How that compensated for the Earth’s orbital motion is unknown.]

Here is the question:  Did those astronomers really make such an obvious oversight or did they send the radar signal with full knowledge that the Earth is “fixed”?  (An equally interesting question is whether they did actually receive a return signal, although the Earth was supposedly a little over 44,000 miles further along its orbit.)