Building Telescopes on the Moon Could Transform Astronomy
upstart writes:
The Moon still has much to tell us about the early solar system:
The Moon still has much to tell us about the early solar system. Encouragingly, it also has scientific value as a platform for observational astronomy.
Lunar exploration is undergoing a renaissance. Dozens of missions, organised by multiple space agencies-and increasingly by commercial companies-are set to visit the Moon by the end of this decade. Most of these will involve small robotic spacecraft, but NASA's ambitious Artemis program, aims to return humans to the lunar surface by the middle of the decade.
[...] The potential role for astronomy of Earth's natural satellite was discussed at a Royal Society meeting earlier this year. The meeting itself had, in part, been sparked by the enhanced access to the lunar surface now in prospect. Several types of astronomy would benefit. The most obvious is radio astronomy, which can be conducted from the side of the Moon that always faces away from Earth-the far side.
The lunar far side is permanently shielded from the radio signals generated by humans on Earth. During the lunar night, it is also protected from the Sun. These characteristics make it probably the most "radio-quiet" location in the whole solar system as no other planet or moon has a side that permanently faces away from the Earth. It is therefore ideally suited for radio astronomy.
[...] Radio waves with wavelengths longer than about 15m are blocked by Earth's ionoshere. But radio waves at these wavelengths reach the Moon's surface unimpeded. For astronomy, this is the last unexplored region of the electromagnetic spectrum, and it is best studied from the lunar far side. Observations of the cosmos at these wavelengths come under the umbrella of "low frequency radio astronomy." These wavelengths are uniquely able to probe the structure of the early universe, especially the cosmic "dark ages," an era before the first galaxies formed.
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