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10 Coolest New Moon Discoveries
The Moon Revealed
Credit: null
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), NASA's youngest moon probe, has beamed home a treasure trove of data since its mission began in June 2009. Here's a look at 10 of LRO's most intriguing lunar discoveries so far.
LRO
The biggest revelation uncovered by researchers in recent years is the discovery of water on the moon, in ice and rocks, across huge craters and vast lunar plains. LRO helped discover the moon's hidden water by watching its partner probe LCROSS crash into the lunar surface in October 2009. LRO and other spacecraft ultimately found evidence of tons of water ice at the moon's north pole and elsewhere.
Hermite Crater
Credit: NASA
Diviner, LRO's temperature instrument, found a location in the moon's Hermite Crater detected to be -415 degrees Fahrenheit (-248 Celsius), making it the coldest temperature measured anywhere in the solar system. For comparison, scientists believe that Pluto's surface only gets down to about -300 degrees Fahrenheit (-184 Celsius). Extremely cold regions similar to the one in Hermite Crater were found at the bottoms of several permanently shaded craters at the lunar south pole and were measured in the depths of winter night.
Far Side of the Moon
Credit: NASA
One side of the moon always faces toward our planet. The side that faces away should be referred to as the "far side of the moon" instead of the "dark side of the moon," as it receives just as much sunlight as the side that faces us. This image shows the moon's topography from LRO's LOLA instruments with the highest elevations in red and the lowest areas in blue.
Moon's Axis
Credit: NASA
The moon's axis tilts only slightly, so there are areas of high elevation at its poles that remain almost constantly exposed to the sun. Using LRO's precise measurements of topography, scientists have been able to map illumination in detail, finding some areas with up to 96% solar visibility. Such sites would have continuous sun for approximately 243 days a year and never have a period of total darkness for more than 24 hours.
