NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
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Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#2>We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon
Doesn't every part of the Moon get some sunlight over the lunar cycle?
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#3>We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon Doesn't every part of the Moon get some sunlight over the lunar cycle?
Some parts of some craters are in permanent shadow.
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#4Super cool!
Other upcoming missions that are going to be looking for water on the moon:
- Lunar IceCube, a 6U CubeSat designed to prospect for lunar water will launch on EM-1, the first Artemis mission. The 14 kg CubeSat will search for water in ice, liquid, and vapor (in the Moon’s very tenuous atmosphere) forms and includes an Iodine-based electric propulsion thruster
- Lunar Flashlight CubeSat, another of EM-1’s 13 secondary payloads, will search for ice in permanently shadowed lunar crater regions using an onboard laser.
We discussed these missions in Orbital Index a few weeks ago: http://orbitalindex.com/archive/2020-09-30-Issue-84/#lunar-i...
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#5>We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon Doesn't every part of the Moon get some sunlight over the lunar cycle?
the distinction is they already found molecular water in the parts not lit by sun
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#6It blows my mind a little bit that spectrosocopy is a thing that just happens to be afforded us by physics, and how much less we'd know about the universe if it didn't exist. "Oh, every element has a totally unique signature and all you need to do is look at it to tell what it is, no matter how many miles or light-years away." It's the kind of thing where if it only existed in a sci-fi novel, it would be considered a far-too-convenient plot point.
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#7It blows my mind a little bit that spectrosocopy is a thing that just happens to be afforded us by physics, and how much less we'd know about the universe if it didn't exist. "Oh, every element has a totally unique signature and all you need to do is look at it to tell what it is, no matter how many miles or light-years away." It's the kind of thing where if it only existed in a sci-fi novel, it would be considered a…
It is an extension of our eyesight. We see objects as being a specific color because they selectively absorb or reflect particular wavelengths of light. Our tri-color vision system can seem some large band gaps and our brain calls that a color. Spectroscopy just sees smaller gaps, smaller absorption lines.
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#8It blows my mind a little bit that spectrosocopy is a thing that just happens to be afforded us by physics, and how much less we'd know about the universe if it didn't exist. "Oh, every element has a totally unique signature and all you need to do is look at it to tell what it is, no matter how many miles or light-years away." It's the kind of thing where if it only existed in a sci-fi novel, it would be considered a…
It is an extension of our eyesight. We see objects as being a specific color because they selectively absorb or reflect particular wavelengths of light. Our tri-color vision system can seem some large band gaps and our brain calls that a color. Spectroscopy just sees smaller gaps, smaller absorption lines.
But all kinds of complicated material-properties can affect the color our eyes see (to my understanding). That alone wouldn't be useful in this way. It's the fact that these signatures exist at an elemental level, and are consistent across all contexts, and can be teased apart at a cosmic scale that makes the technique so powerful.
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#9>We had indications that H2O – the familiar water we know – might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon Doesn't every part of the Moon get some sunlight over the lunar cycle?
Some parts of some craters are in permanent shadow.
This is true, but the phrasing "might be present on the sunlit side of the Moon" is problematic and reinforces the belief (also reinforced by the phrase "dark side") that the Moon has a light and dark side. (At least in the case of 'dark side' an argument could be made that it means 'dark to (historical) human knowledge.' It's hard to defend "sunlit side.")
Re: NASA’s Sofia Discovers Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon
#10Context: NASA keen to show SOFIA's worth
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00685-2