Could COVID-19 Quarantine Have Altered the Moon's Surface? NASA Reports a Temperature Drop
NASA's latest findings reveal a shocking connection between the COVID-19 pandemic and our celestial neighbor—the Moon. As lockdowns gripped the Earth, it seems they may have had unexpected effects beyond our planet, leading to a measurable drop in the Moon's surface temperature. How could a global health crisis impact such a distant body? Join us as we explore this fascinating research and its implications for our understanding of both Earth and the Moon!
Due to the rapidly spreading coronavirus pandemic around the world, the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic on March 11, 2020, marking the beginning of the quarantine process.
The quarantine process brought about significant changes in human lifestyle patterns.
The Diviner Reduced Data Record from NASA's PDS Geosciences Node was analyzed over six years!
When compared to previous years, the results revealed "an abnormal decrease in the nighttime surface temperatures of the Moon."
So, how did Covid-19 affect the lunar surface?
Researchers attribute the temperature drop to the reduction in radiation emitted by the Earth during the quarantine. Human activity significantly decreased during this period. For instance, there was a notable decline in greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols, leading to less heat being trapped and re-emitted by the Earth's atmosphere. This, in turn, affected the amount of radiation reaching the Moon.
K Durga Prasad from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) stated, 'The Moon acts as an amplifier of Earth's radiation signature. This unique global event provided us with a rare opportunity to observe how changes in human activity on Earth could affect our closest celestial neighbor.'
Thus, it seems that the Covid-19 quarantines inadvertently made the lunar surface cooler for a time.
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