Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
May 1993
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1993aas...182.5121m&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, 182nd AAS Meeting, #51.21; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 25, p.889
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
It is believed that a substantial population of levitated dust is present in the terminator region of the moon. Although quantitative data on the levitated lunar dust distribution is meager, it is possible to estimate column densities and sizes. In this paper we summarize the estimates of particulate sizes and number densities of previous authors, and construct a nominal terminator dust distribution, as a function of particulate radius and altitude above the lunar surface. Using the model we estimate the brightness of scattered sunlight for three wavelength bands. For the results in the visible wavelengths, we compare the estimated brightness with the known brightness of selected astronomical objects. We find scattering of sunlight by levitated dust in the terminator region results in a lunar sky at least an order of magnitude brighter than the terrestrial night sky, yielding increased backgrounds for lunar-based astronomical telescopes.
Murphy Daniel L.
Vondrak Richard R.
No associations
LandOfFree
Effects of Levitated Dust on Astronomical Observations from the Lunar Surface does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Effects of Levitated Dust on Astronomical Observations from the Lunar Surface, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Effects of Levitated Dust on Astronomical Observations from the Lunar Surface will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1849745