Scientists using data from NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, have identified bright areas in craters near the moons south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface. <\/p>\n
Using data from NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scientists, including University of Hawaii at Mnoa researcher Paul Lucey, have identified bright areas in craters near the moons south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface. <\/p>\n
The new evidence comes from an analysis that combined surface temperatures with information about how much laser light is reflected off the moons surface from one of the LRO instruments. <\/p>\n
We found that the coldest places near the moons south pole are also the brightest placesbrighter than we would expect from soil aloneand that might indicate the presence of surface frost, said Elizabeth Fisher, the lead author of the study, published in Icarus. Fisher carried out the data analysis while doing research with Lucey at the UH Mnoa Hawaii Institute ofGeophysics and Planetology after earning her undergraduate degree. She is now a graduate student at Brown University. <\/p>\n
The icy deposits appear to be patchy and thin, and its possible that they are mixed in with the surface layer of soil, dust and small rocks called the regolith. The researchers say they are not seeing expanses of ice similar to a frozen pond or skating rink. Instead, they are seeing signs of surface frost. <\/p>\n
Credit: NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center\/Scientific Visualization Studio. <\/p>\n
We estimate that the ice detected would fill about one Olympic-sized swimming pool, said Lucey. <\/p>\n
The frost was found in permanently dark areaslocated on the floors of deep craters that dont receive direct sunlightwhere temperatures remain below minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 163 degrees Celsius). Under these conditions, water ice can persist for millions or billions of years. <\/p>\n
More than a half-century ago, scientists suggested that permanently dark areas could store water ice, but confirming that hypothesis turned out to be challenging. <\/p>\n
These findings demonstrate once again the value of studying the moon from orbit long-term, said John Keller, the LRO project scientist at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. All of this work begins with comprehensive data sets made up of years worth of continuous measurements. <\/p>\n
The study strengthens the case that there is frost in cold traps near the moons south pole. So far, however, researchers have not seen the same signs near the moons north pole. <\/p>\n
What has always been intriguing about the moon is that we expect to find ice wherever the temperatures are cold enough for ice, but thats not quite what we see, said Matt Siegler, a researcher with the Planetary Science Institute in Dallas, Texas, and a co-author on the study. <\/p>\n
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New evidence of frost on moon's surface - UH System Current News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Scientists using data from NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, have identified bright areas in craters near the moons south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface. Using data from NASAs Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), scientists, including University of Hawaii at Mnoa researcher Paul Lucey, have identified bright areas in craters near the moons south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface. The new evidence comes from an analysis that combined surface temperatures with information about how much laser light is reflected off the moons surface from one of the LRO instruments Continue reading