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Issue #90 of Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin

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Issue #90 of Lunar and Planetary Information Bulletin Lunar and Planetary Information BULLETIN Spring 2001/NUMBER 90 • LUNAR AND PLANETARY INSTITUTE • UNIVERSITIES SPACE RESEARCH ASSOCIATION CONTENTS MYSTERIES OF THE MOON POLICY IN REVIEW NEWS FROM SPACE NEW IN PRINT LPSC CHANGES CALENDAR PREVIOUS ISSUES L U N A R A N D P L A N E T A R Y I N F O R M A T I O N B U L L E T I N 1 Mysteries of the Moon A Moon by Any Other Name recent lurid television program posed the question, “Did NASA really go to the A Moon or was it all a hoax?” Most viewers rightly scoffed at the program, which nonetheless gathered top ratings. These high ratings were probably more an indication of the Native American Full Moon Names public’s continuing high interest in the Moon rather than a cynical statement on what people are willing to believe in these allegedly unenlightened times. While the fact that Apollo astronauts January Old Moon, did visit the Moon is easily proved, not by television images but by the many samples brought Moon After Yule back and the testimonials of those involved, there do remain many unanswered or at least widely February Snow Moon, Hunger misunderstood aspects about the Moon. This short guide will attempt to answer several of the Moon, Wolf Moon most frequently asked questions about the Moon, our nearest neighbor, lifetime companion, and March Sap Moon, Crow Moon, neverending source of inspiration and inquiry. Lenten Moon April Grass Moon, Egg Moon Why doesn’t the Moon have a “real” name, like the moons of Jupiter? May Planting Moon, Milk Moon The Moon has been called “the Moon” for centuries. The modern English word derives from the June Rose Moon, Strawberry Old English name, Mona. When Galileo first discovered satellites around Jupiter, they were Moon, Flower Moon called “moons” after our own natural satellite, and the designation stuck. July Thunder Moon, Hay Moon Why does a full Moon appear bigger on the horizon? August Green Corn Moon, Grain Moon This very convincing effect is known as the “Moon illusion,” and it is in fact an optical illusion. September Harvest Moon The size of the image the Moon casts on your eye is the same no matter where in the sky it is. October Hunters Moon This can be tested by even the most casual observer using a paper clip bent into a measuring November Frosty Moon, device held at arm’s length. Measure the image of the Moon both when it is high in the sky and Beaver Moon near the horizon, and the measurement will be the same, despite the fact that the Moon appears so December Before Yule Moon, much larger at the horizon. Since optical illusions are essentially psychological tricks played on Long Night Moon the brain, it is difficult to explain exactly why this phenonomen takes place. Some have argued that the presence of objects on the ground (trees, buildings) make the Moon seem larger by Other Moon Names comparison. A Blue Moon is a rare occurrence, as Did NASA claim the Moon as property of the United States when it planted a flag on the Moon, in “once in a blue moon.” Some say like Columbus did when he landed in America? this came from the term for a second full moon in one month, an event that occurs every two or three years. When a NASA astronaut placed the flag on the Moon, the action signified that, “America went in peace for all Mankind.” Acquisition in outer space is prohibited under the United Nations Treaty A children’s moon is a moon that on Outer Space signed in 1967. Some companies have attempted to sell “real estate” on the appears during daylight. Moon, but such deals have no legal standing in any country. 2 L U N A R A N D P L A N E T A R Y I N F O R M A T I O N B U L L E T I N Further reading on the Moon Is there a dark side of the Moon? Lunar Sourcebook: A User’s Guide to the Moon. By Grant H. Heiken et al. Because the same side of the Moon always faces the Earth, we only see one side of the Moon and Cambridge and LPI, 1991. thus used to speak of a “dark side.” That side, now referred to in scientific circles as the “farside,” The Once and Future Moon. By Paul D. is not cast in a permanent state of darkness, however. When we experience a new Moon on Earth, Spudis. Smithsonian Institution, 1998. for instance, and the dark side of the Moon is facing the Earth, the farside is bathed in sunlight. Origin of the Earth and Moon. Univ. of So, although the Moon may have a “dark side,” it is not always the same side. Arizona, 2000. (See p. 7, this issue.) Is there water on the Moon? The Moon and the Western Imagination. By Scott L. Montgomery. Univ. of Arizona, 1999. In March 1998, scientists asserted that the amount of water ice found on the Moon may be in the range of 11 million to 330 million tons. This was based on data returned by theLunar Prospec- Websites about the Moon tor, on the presence of large hydrogen deposits, and on more unknown scientific factors such as theoretical models about the Moon’s atmosphere, the rate of cometary impact, and how these Moon Nomenclature. Describes origins of factors affected the regolith mixing ratio over time. At the end of theProspector ’s mission in names for lunar features. 1999, NASA scientists intentionally crashed the probe in the lunar polar regions where the ice was thought to exist, in the hopes of liberating a http://wwwflag.wr.usgs.gov/USGSFlag/ Space/nomen/moon/moonTOC.html cloud of water vapor. Although no direct evidence of water ice was detected initially by Collecting Moon Rocks. Describes the the crash, the data is still being sifted through. tools and procedures used by the Apollo astronauts to collect lunar samples. Does the Moon make people crazy? http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/ Although the word lunatic and its derivatives Apollo11/A11_Samples_tools.html come from a supposed connection between the Moon and mental illness, no connection has Exploring the Moon. LPI’s extensive site describing the lunar missions and their been established with any scientific veracity. accomplishments. Furthermore, no connection has been estab- lished, although many people mistakenly http://www.lpi.usra.edu/expmoon/ believe it has, between the appearance of a full lunar_missions.html Moon and supposed rises in crime, erratic behavior, or general mayhem. Although some Lunar Sample Laboratory. Johnson social scientists have explored this problem Space Center site that provides a virtual statistically, reasoning the light of the full tour of the Lunar Sample Laboratory. Moon possibly could have an effect on the http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/curator/ human psyche, they have failed to turn up any lunar/Lun-fac.htm such evidence. National Space Science Data Center’s Moon Fact Sheet. What does the Moon look like in other parts of the world? http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/ factsheet/moonfact.html For practical purposes, the phases of the Moon and how much of it appears to be illuminated are independent of the location of the observer on Earth, although the precise fraction of the Moon Consolidated Lunar Atlas. A collection of the best photographic images of the Moon, that appears to be illuminated will vary slightly. One interesting thing to note, however, is that an complete with data. observer in Australia sees an “upside-down” version of the Moon compared to what somebody would see in North America. http://www.lpi.usra.edu/research /cla/ menu.html Some of this information was culled from NASA websites. L U N A R A N D P L A N E T A R Y I N F O R M A T I O N B U L L E T I N 3 POLICY IN REVIEW The following letter, directed to Jay Severe understaffing at NASA Headquarters, Outer Planets Bergstralh, Colleen Hartmann, and Scott compounded by the need to respond very Hubbard of NASA Headquarters, presents the rapidly to the recommendation of the SSES to The current status of the Outer Planets most recent findings of the Solar System compete the Pluto-Kuiper mission through an Program was reviewed by Dr. Colleen Exploration Subcommittee of the Space AO, drained personnel from grant processing. Hartmann. It was reiterated that OMB and the Science Advisory Committee, which met This reassignment of personnel led to serious Congress had not approved an Outer Planets February 28 through March 1, 2001, to delays in awarding of grants. The SSES Program, even though both OMB and the discuss the future of solar system space commends Dr. Riegler for recognizing this relevant congressional committees had exploration. Dr. Michael J. Drake, chair of problem of slow processing of grants and has supported the release of the Pluto AO. Even that committee, has submitted this letter to this confidence in his stated plans to solve the the Europa Orbiter mission is far from assured, forum for public review. The layout and some problem rapidly and prevent its recurrence. given technical challenges and budget emphases (italics and bold) were changed for constraints. publication purposes. The SSES strongly urges the hiring of During the meeting, the President’s FY02 more civil servants and IPAs at NASA “mini-budget” was announced. It cancelled the March 16, 2001 Headquarters.
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