╌>

Bizarre lunar anomaly suggests humans may have warmed the moon

  

Category:  Health, Science & Technology

Via:  bob-nelson  •  6 years ago  •  13 comments

Bizarre lunar anomaly suggests humans may have warmed the moon

S E E D E D   C O N T E N T



Moon796x416.jpg

A new report from a team of researchers at Texas Tech suggests humans may have inadvertently given the moon a fever because we were a little too messy during our Apollo visits.

NASA conducted a heat monitoring experiment on landing sites 15 and 17 between 1971 and 1972. During that time, it noted the temperature of the area increased by four degrees Fahrenheit. The mystery has bugged lunar observers for decades.

In order to solve the puzzle, the researchers, led by  Seiichi Nagihara, searched for several lost NASA tapes that recorded three years’ worth of temperature readings. After eight years, they managed to find them.

The team have now recorded their findings in the  Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets . According to the researchers, astronauts who walked on the moon may have shifted too large an amount of dust from the surface. This revealed a layer of darker, heat-absorbing soil which otherwise wouldn’t have been exposed to solar rays.

So those romantic images of eternal footprints on the surface of the moon? Turns out us stomping around up there, swinging at golf balls , may have had an unintentional effect. If you look at images from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, you can see the dark lines of tracks going across the surface.

NASA

As the researchers say in their paper :

We suggest that, as a result of the astronauts’ activities, solar heat intake by the regolith increased slightly on average, and that resulted in the observed warming.

So it turns out the temperature spike on the moon may have been caused by us. Yikes.


Tags

jrDiscussion - desc
[]
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
1  seeder  Bob Nelson    6 years ago

No! No! No!

ALW (anthropogenic lunar warming) is a hoax by a world-wide cabal of moonies, grubbing for research grant money!


I'm seeding this article because I find it worthy of the time necessary to read it and to think about it. I will not be participating in any conversation here, but if you would like to discuss it with me, please contact me via Chat or Private Note - I will reply.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
1.1  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Bob Nelson @1    6 years ago

We may not agree on politics, but I definitely agree with you on this one.

 
 
 
SteevieGee
Professor Silent
1.2  SteevieGee  replied to  Bob Nelson @1    6 years ago

Or maybe...  It's just a bizarre lunar anomoly.

 
 
 
sixpick
Professor Quiet
2  sixpick    6 years ago

I prefer laying under the moon anyway.  The sun gets too hot on my back.

 
 
 
Pedro
Professor Participates
3  Pedro    6 years ago

Authors (with assistance from administration) moderate their own articles. Authors are expected to foster healthy, open discussions. They are responsible for the content they submit and must exercise impartiality when reporting abuse.

Article is locked. PRF

 
 
 
Bob Nelson
Professor Guide
3.1  seeder  Bob Nelson  replied to  Pedro @3    6 years ago

The seed is unlocked. There has been no activity needing Moderation.

Please do not needlessly derail into meta. Thank you.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
4  Ed-NavDoc    6 years ago

That report is pure fiction. There is just no way it can be scientifically proven that the extremely short duration of a dozen people setting foot on the moon could have any effect on said temperatures!

 
 
 
Greg Jones
Professor Participates
4.1  Greg Jones  replied to  Ed-NavDoc @4    6 years ago

Robert knows that.

 
 
 
Ed-NavDoc
Professor Quiet
4.1.1  Ed-NavDoc  replied to  Greg Jones @4.1    6 years ago

You might want to look at post #1 above...

 
 
 
bccrane
Freshman Silent
4.2  bccrane  replied to  Ed-NavDoc @4    6 years ago

The moons temperature swings 540 degrees F every 27 days and their worried about 4 degrees F over an insignificant patch on the surface 

 
 
 
bccrane
Freshman Silent
4.2.1  bccrane  replied to  bccrane @4.2    6 years ago

I guess before the grammar police see it "they're" not "their".

 
 

Who is online


Sean Treacy
JBB
Ed-NavDoc


427 visitors