Posted on 08/16/2012 2:32:45 AM PDT by rjbemsha
Observations from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) have revealed the presence of helium in the thin atmosphere surrounding the moon. Scientists made the discovery using the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project (LAMP) spectrometer, usually used for mapping the lunar surface, combined with measurements taken as far back as 1972 by Apollo 17's by the Lunar Atmosphere Composition Experiment (LACE).
(Excerpt) Read more at tgdaily.com ...
bflr
So that means everyone sounds like the Chipmunks on the moon ?
No, silly. Nobody breathes on the moon! The Helium is just there to keep it floating up in the sky.
The presence of helium in the moon’s (very) thin atmosphere has been known since the moon landings.
Frank Booth will be very pleased.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjxvZw1CwQ4
Warning: Language, NSFW !
I knew it! I knew that all of my balloons when I was a child floated up to the moon!!! :D
I'd bet on the former.
How many millibars of atmosphere does the moon actually have? It's generally referred to as 'airless', but any body as large as the moon will have some trace atmosphere due to gravity.
The lunar exosphere is 1/trillionth of an atmosphere. Apollo 17 measured helium on the lunar surface, but LAMP can measure helium density as a function of altitude, since it makes the measurement from lunar orbit.
MD, LAMP Instrument Scientist
Note: this topic is from 8/16/2012. Thanks rjbemsha.
|
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.