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Return to the Moon
Dr Duncan L Copp
June 2008
Return to the moon | Written in the rocks | A grand observatory | Space resource | A manned return? | The driving force | Find out more
A grand observatory
Others see the moon as an excellent location to look upwards as well as downwards. The lunar environment scores incredibly high when considering conditions needed for cutting edge astronomy. Of primary importance is the lack of a substantial atmosphere. The atmosphere on Earth is the bane of astronomers, creating a multitude of frustrating problems: weather can severely disrupt observations; air and light pollution cause sky glow, reducing visibility; air currents churn the atmosphere, causing blurred vision.
On the moon, these problems are solved in one fell swoop – no atmosphere, no problems! Furthermore, astronomers don't just use visible light to understand the workings of stars and galaxies; infrared, ultraviolet, X-rays, gamma rays and radio waves (all of which are either wholly or partially absorbed by the Earth's atmosphere) can be used to their full potential on the moon.
Two other benefits would come from lunar astronomy. First, since there is no atmosphere to scatter light (as there is on Earth in the daytime), optical astronomy can take place continually. Second, owing to the lower gravity on the moon (approximately one sixth of Earth's), construction of larger telescopes will be far more practical as things weigh less; so telescopes on the moon could be much more powerful.
Astronomy from the moon would no doubt usher in a new cosmological revolution, completely changing the way we view the Universe, in much the same way that the Hubble Space Telescope did in the 1990s, but on a much grander scale.
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