Tag Archive for 'Moon'

Casiraghi et al. show that on nights before a full moon, people sleep less and go to bed later on average. Image credit: Florian Kurz.

Lunar Cycle’s Effects on Sleep are More Pronounced among Men: Study

Sep 14, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new community-dwelling study from Sweden suggests that the lunar cycle affects sleep in humans, with more pronounced sleep alterations in men than women. Sleep...

Geologic map of the southwest peak-ring area of the Schrödinger basin, including structural features, geologic units and inferred lithologies in the peak ring. Image credit: Czaplinski et al., doi: 10.3847/PSJ/abdb34.

Scientists Create Detailed Geologic Map of Moon’s South Polar Region

May 5, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of planetary researchers from the University of Arkansas and elsewhere has produced a high-resolution geologic map of the Schrödinger...

Computer model of the Antikythera Mechanism’s display: in the center, the dome of the Earth, the phase of the Moon and its position in the Zodiac -- then rings for Mercury, Venus, true Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Date, with ‘little sphere’ markers and smaller markers for oppositions. Scale marks and index letters for the synodic cycles of the planets are inscribed on the planet rings. Surrounding these, the Zodiac and the Egyptian Calendar. The true Sun ring has a ‘little golden sphere’ with ‘pointer.’ When the Moon and Sun pointers coincide, the Moon sphere shows black for New Moon; when the pointers are on opposite sides, the Moon sphere shows white for Full Moon. The Head of the Dragon Hand shows the ascending lunar node; the Tail the descending node. Small triangles on the true Sun ring, near the pointer, show wider and narrower eclipse limits. Eclipses are possible if the Dragon Hand is within these limits. When the Moon pointer is before the Head of the Dragon, the Moon is South of the node; after, it is North of the node -- conversely for the descending node. A Date pointer is attached to a narrow date ring, showing the date in the Egyptian Calendar. Image credit: Freeth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84310-w.

Scientists Step Closer to Understanding Full Capabilities of Antikythera Mechanism

Mar 15, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers from University College London and the Cyprus Institute’s Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center has...

This is an artist's impression of a rocky and water-rich asteroid being torn apart by the strong gravity of the white dwarf star GD 61. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge.

Relatively Large Near-Earth Asteroid to Fly Safely Past Our Planet on March 21

Mar 12, 2021 by News Staff

2001 FO32, a near-Earth asteroid discovered two decades ago, will fly safely past Earth on March 21, 2021, at a distance of about 2 million (1.25 million...

Study: Sleep Starts Later and is Shorter on Nights before Full Moon

Jan 28, 2021 by News Staff

Before the availability of artificial light, moonlight was the only source of light sufficient to stimulate nighttime activity; still, evidence for the...

A whimsical view of the planets of our Solar System and the missions sent from Earth to explore them. Image credit: Jenny Mottar / NASA.

Astronomers Discover New ‘Celestial Autobahn’ in Solar System

Dec 9, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of astronomers from Serbia and the United States has discovered a new superhighway network to travel through our Solar System much...

This SEM image shows crystals of donwilhelmsite in Oued Awlitis 001. Image credit: Ansgar Greshake, Museum für Naturkunde Berlin.

New Mineral Discovered in Lunar Meteorite: Donwilhelmsite

Nov 5, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers in Europe has identified a new high-pressure mineral in a lunar meteorite called Oued Awlitis 001. Fragments of Oued Awlitis 001....

This illustration highlights Clavius Crater on the Moon with an illustration depicting water trapped in the lunar soil there, along with an image of SOFIA. Image credit: NASA.

SOFIA Detects Molecular Water on Sunlit Surface of Moon

Oct 26, 2020 by News Staff

Using data gathered by the Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) onboard the NASA/DLR Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy...

When the Moon had a magnetic field, it would have been shielded from incoming solar wind, as shown in this illustration. Image credit: NASA.

Moon’s Ancient Magnetosphere May Have Helped Early Earth Retain Its Atmosphere

Oct 15, 2020 by News Staff

Solar storms strip a planet’s atmosphere over time, and only a strong magnetosphere would be able to provide maximum protection. Lunar samples gathered...

New Study Challenges Hypothesis that Moon’s Crust was Magnetized by Meteoroid Impacts

Oct 8, 2020 by News Staff

The crusts of the Moon, Mercury and many small bodies in the Solar System are magnetized. Although the magnetizing field is commonly attributed to that...

Meteoroids bombarded the Earth-Moon system 800 million years ago. Image credit: Murayama, Osaka University.

Moon May Have Fragments of Ancient Venus on Its Surface

Oct 7, 2020 by News Staff

If the atmosphere of Venus was at any point thin and similar to Earth’s, then ancient asteroid impacts transferred potentially detectable amounts of...

View of the Chang’E 4 lander with the location of the LND sensor head indicated by the red arrow. LND is mounted in the Chang’E 4 payload compartment; the lid at the tip of the red arrow is closed at night to protect LND from the cold lunar night. Image credit: Chinese National Space Agency / National Astronomical Observatories of China.

Scientists Measure Radiation Dose Rates on Lunar Surface

Sep 28, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Using the Lunar Lander Neutrons and Dosimetry (LND) experiment aboard China’s Chang’E 4 lander, a team of researchers from Germany and China has measured...

(3122) Florence will pass safely by Earth on September 1, at a distance of about 4.4 million miles. Image credit: University of Colorado.

Asteroid 2020 SW Flew Safely Past Earth Today

Sep 24, 2020 by News Staff

A small near-Earth asteroid designated 2020 SW made its closest approach to Earth today at 7:12 a.m. EDT (4:12 a.m. PDT) at a distance of about 22,000...

The Nebra sky disk. Image credit: Dbachmann / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Nebra Sky Disk Could Be Younger than First Thought

Sep 4, 2020 by News Staff

The Nebra sky disk, one of the oldest concrete depictions of cosmic phenomena, was created in the first millennium BCE, roughly 1,000 years later than...

Map of hematite (redder color) on the Moon. Image credit: Li et al, doi: 10.1126/sciadv.aba1940.

Mineral Hematite Detected at High Latitudes on Moon

Sep 2, 2020 by News Staff

A ferric mineral called hematite (Fe2O3) is present at high latitudes on the Moon, mostly associated with east- and equator-facing sides of topographic...

An artist’s impression of Hubble observing the total lunar eclipse. Image credit: NASA/ ESA / Hubble / M. Kornmesser.

Hubble Probes Earth’s Atmosphere during Total Lunar Eclipse

Aug 6, 2020 by News Staff

Taking advantage of a total lunar eclipse in January 2019, astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have measured the amount of ozone in the...

Asteroid Shower Bombarded Earth-Moon System 800 Million Years Ago

Jul 22, 2020 by News Staff

A team of planetary researchers from Japan has demonstrated that a 100-km asteroid was disrupted 800 million years ago (Tonian period of the Neoproterozoic...

When the Moon formed into a sphere approximately 1,700 km in radius 4.425 billion years ago, its interior heated up considerably due to the energy released when it accreted. The rock melted and an ocean of magma, possibly more than 1,000 km deep, formed. Later, light rocks crystallized, which rose to the surface and formed a first crust on the Moon. This crust insulated the Moon from space, and the magma ocean beneath it cooled down slowly. Around 200 million years would pass before the Moon completely solidified. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Moon May Be 85 Million Years Younger than Thought

Jul 15, 2020 by News Staff

Earth’s only natural satellite formed 4.425 billion years ago — around 85 million years later than previous estimates, according to a new modeling...

This photograph was taken looking south across Mare Imbrium. The crater Copernicus, 93 km (58 miles) in diameter, is seen in the distance. Several chains of small craters are visible. These are oriented toward Copernicus and are secondary craters produced by material ejected when Copernicus formed. In the foreground, the crater Pytheas is 20 km (12.4 miles) in diameter. This photo was taken by the Apollo 17 crew in 1972. Image credit: Lunar and Planetary Institute.

Lunar Subsurface May Be Richer in Metals than Previously Thought

Jul 2, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the Miniature Radio Frequency (Mini-RF) instrument onboard NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), a team of U.S. researchers has...

An example of the lunar rockfall. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / ASU.

Planetary Scientists Create First Global Map of Lunar Rockfalls

Jun 10, 2020 by News Staff

Using an artificial intelligence and big data-driven approach, a team of planetary researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research...

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