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Scientists find signs of surface frost on Moon
Using data from NASA\'s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, scientists have identified bright areas in craters near the Moon\'s south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface.The new evidence comes from an analysis that combined surface temperatures with information about how much light is reflected off the moon\'s surface.
Washington: Using data from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, scientists have identified bright areas in craters near the Moon's south pole that are cold enough to have frost present on the surface.The new evidence comes from an analysis that combined surface temperatures with information about how much light is reflected off the moon's surface.
"We found that the coldest places near the Moon's south pole are also the brightest places -- brighter than we would expect from soil alone -- and that might indicate the presence of surface frost," said Elizabeth Fisher, graduate student at Brown University in the US.
The icy deposits appear to be patchy and thin, and it is possible that they are mixed in with the surface layer of soil, dust and small rocks called the regolith, according to the study published in the journal Icarus. The frost was found in cold traps close to the Moon's south pole.
Cold traps are permanently dark areas -- located either on the floor of a deep crater or along a section of crater wall that doesn't receive direct sunlight -- where temperatures remain below minus 163 degrees Celsius. Under these conditions, water ice can persist for millions or billions of years.
