Related papers: Earthshine as an Illumination Source at the Moon
In this essay we look at the possibility of vacuum production of very low frequency electromagnetic radiation from a gravitational wave background (i.e. gravity's light). We also propose that this counterpart electromagnetic radiation…
We investigate the possibility that the Moon develops an electric potential originating from the impinging particles on the Moon from cosmic rays and solar wind. The investigation includes all experimental data of the flux of charged…
Lunar occultation, which occurs when the Moon crosses sight-lines to distant sources, has been studied extensively through apparent intensity pattern resulting from Fresnel diffraction, and has been successfully used to measure angular…
The apparent brightness of satellites is calculated as a function of satellite position as seen by a ground-based observer in darkness. Both direct illumination of the satellite by the Sun as well as indirect illumination due to reflection…
Using over 40 million muons collected since 1989 by the MACRO detector we have searched for a depletion of muons coming from the direction of the Moon due to primary cosmic rays striking the Moon. We observe this Moon shadow in the expected…
Clouds cast shadows on the surface and locally enhance solar irradiance by absorbing and scattering sunlight, resulting in fast and large solar irradiance fluctuations on the surface. Typical spatiotemporal scales and driving mechanisms of…
Reliable energy delivery is a critical requirement for long-term lunar missions, particularly in regions with limited solar access, such as polar craters and during extended lunar nights. Optical Power Beaming (OPB) using high-power lasers…
The potential effect of the lunar exosphere on the near-ultraviolet sky background emission is predicted for Lunar-based Ultraviolet Telescope (LUT: a funded Chinese scientific payload for the Chang'e-III mission). Using the upper limit on…
Giant planets in the habitable zone may host exomoons with conditions conducive to life. In this paper we describe a method by which the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) could detect such moons: broadband reflected-light lunar eclipses…
With the rapid developments in the exoplanet field, more and more terrestrial exoplanets are being detected. Characterising their atmospheres using transit observations will become a key datum in the quest for detecting an Earth-like…
It is widely accepted that the surface potential of the lunar dayside is "on average" several to 10 V positive due to photoelectron emission in addition to the solar wind plasma precipitation. Recent studies, however, have shown that an…
The Sun is the main energy source to Earth, and understanding its variability is of direct relevance to climate studies. Measurements of total solar irradiance exist since 1978, but this is too short compared to climate-relevant time…
Specularly reflected light, or glint, from an ocean surface may provide a useful observational tool for studying extrasolar terrestrial planets. Detection of sea-surface glints would differentiate ocean-bearing terrestrial planets, i.e.…
Low-frequency radio astronomy is limited by severe ionospheric distortions below 50 MHz and complete reflection of radio waves below 10-30 MHz. Shielding of man-made interference from long-range radio broadcasts, strong natural radio…
The passive retroreflector arrays placed on the moon by Apollo 11, 14 and 15 astronauts continue to produce valuable Earth-Moon range measurements that enable high-precision tests of gravitational physics, as well as studies of geo- and…
The Peaks of Eternal Light (PELs), that are largely unshaded regions mostly at the lunar south pole, have been suggested as a source of solar power for mining the water and other volatiles in the nearby permanently dark regions. As mining…
Direct measurements of the abundance of argon in the lunar atmosphere were made in 1973 by instruments placed on the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission, but the total daytime abundance is unknown due to instrument saturation effects; thus,…
Ever since the Apollo era, a question has remained as to the origin of the lunar swirls (high albedo regions coincident with the regions of surface magnetization). Different processes have been proposed for their origin. In this work we…
I derived an equation to describe the dependence of Moon orbit radius around the Earth. I obtained the radius changes with time according to a scaling equation, Moon orbit radius is proportional to power 2/5 of the Moon age. Using the…
We generalize the problem of the semi-gray model to cases in which a non-negligible fraction of the stellar radiation falls on the long-wavelength range, and/or that the planetary long-wavelength emission penetrates into the transparent…