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[music] Narrator: As the moon orbits the Earth, it occasionally passes through the Earth's shadow, resulting
in a spectacular change in the moon's appearance for a short time. This event is called a
lunar eclipse, and it happens at least twice a year, providing a rare show that's worth staying awake
for. But what would a lunar eclipse look like if you were on the moon? From that perspective,
you would actually be viewing a solar eclipse, with the Earth blocking the Sun for a short period of
time. The view would be spectacular, but there's more to it than that.
Having such a large-scale "lights out" on the moon gives scientists a unique opportunity to study
the moon's surface, and NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is in a position to do just
that. So, what exactly does LRO plan to study? When the Sun is
obscured, the moon cools down, but not every area cools at the same rate.
Rough areas of the moon, with large rocks and boulders, cool down more slowly than areas with fewer
large rocks. By measuring the temperature of the moon as it cools, scientists can identify
which areas are rougher than areas. Earth-based telescopes have been doing something like this
for years, but they're so far away that it's hard to get a good view. LRO's DIVINER
instrument, on the other hand, can measure temperature at an extremely high resolution,
giving scientists a first-ever up-close measurement of this kind. By taking these
measurements, scientists can infer the size and density of moon rocks on a very small scale,
teaching them new things about the moon's surface. And while they might not be able to get
a view of the solar eclipse from the moon, they'll still get a look at the moon that's just as exciting.
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