Space/Science — HabitableZone

Space/Science » in reply to re:Telescopes in space

re: re:Telescopes on the Moon and temperature changes and the poles
Raoul — (archived)

I remember reading about what happens, on the Moon, every time the terminator passes through the ground. The brutal temperature change provoked a lifting of particles (very small particles, not really dust), up to one meter above the surface. I don't know if they don't actually stay floating for a while.
This points to the necessity of having telescopes (if on the Moon) in areas in permanent shadow where the temperature never changes and always is very cold.
Infrared astronomy is going to become more and more important as it's the way to observe galaxies that are so far away their redshift has shifted into infrared and exoplanets can also be better observed through IR.
The great thing about the moon is that its axis is only tilted 1.5 degrees from the ecliptic plane! (the Earth is 23 degrees 30 minutes and the Moon's orbit is 5 degrees from the Earth's equator, which make the 1.5 degrees all the more remarkable).
And the Poles both North and South can allow for complete coverage of the heavens. 2 telescopes at least, then.
Besides, only one telescope in space (or on the Moon) will never be able to observe all the things needed to be observed. There is so much going on all around the universe and with better and better telescopes all the time, there will be more and more things to study!

Raoul

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