I'm Jorge Salazar. NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has created the first map of surface temperatures on the moon. The news was announced at the American Geophysical Union meeting in late 2009. EarthSky's Lindsay Patterson spoke to planetary scientist David Paige, who oversees the lunar mission.
Thanks, Jorge. According to Dr. Paige, this new thermal map of the moon features the coldest temperatures in our solar system ever directly measured. He talked about the moon’s frigid north pole.
David Paige: The north pole during winter solstice at midnight, the temperature got down to 25 Kelvin in places, which is very, very cold.
Twenty-five Kelvin translates to -258 degrees Celsius, or -415 degrees Fahrenheit. Dr. Paige got these measurements from an instrument aboard the NASA orbiter called Diviner. He explained that Diviner makes temperature readings by measuring the light, or radiation, emitted from the surface of the moon.
So what makes these cold places so cold?
Paige said the very coldest places on the moon are located in the crevices of large craters, which are cast in permanent shadow.
I'd imagine that astronauts will promptly want to avoid those cold places on the moon.
Thanks, Lindsay. EarthSky is a clear voice for science. We're at http://www.hxen.com
