Was it just a phase?
The impact of COVID-19 lockdowns has been felt as far away as the moon, a surprising new report suggests.
The study published in “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters“, cooling of the lunar surface was reported during the spring 2020 stay-at-home orders.
“Night-time lunar surface temperatures were analyzed at six different locations on the near side of the Moon during the period 2017-2023,” the researchers wrote.
“The results showed unusually low night-time lunar surface temperatures for all locations during April-May 2020.”
Essentially, the fundamental changes in human behavior on our planet during stay-at-home orders around the world left a significant mark, according to the study.
This effect was observed only during the night, and reached “[solar] The team noted that radiation emanating from Earth could have a “significant impact on lunar surface temperatures.”
The researchers stated that solar radiation does not affect the moon during its night phase, but only during the day.
Unrelated research and discoveries have found that the Moon may have red or blue colors instead of just being a gray dot outside our sky.
As NASA and other space agencies moot a return to the lunar surface, there are also growing calls to implement a lunar time zone, to keep things as accurate as possible.
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