Our Moon shrouded by clouds. The cloud was not composed of water vapor as on Earth, but rather consists of dust. The cloud was also invisible. The study, published in the Nature journal on Friday, June 18, 2015 revealed that the cloud was apparently derived from the comet debris.
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| Astronomers say the massive dust cloud increases in density when annual events like the Geminids meteor shower spew shooting stars.. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1Rioix2) |
"Geminid meteor shower triggered meteor shower on Earth, but it will not trigger the same phenomenon in the Moon," said Mihaly Horanyi, a physicist from the University of Colorado.
"Comet debris that hit the Moon's surface and increase the density of dust for a few days," he said as quoted by the Los Angeles Times, on Thursday, June 17, 2015.
Every day, there are about 100 tons of cosmic dust hit Earth's surface. And the Moon as smaller, only received 5 tons. However, because the Moon has no air, cosmic debris directly hit the surface and cause smaller grievances.
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| This is a picture of coronal and zodiacal light (CZL) taken with the Clementine spacecraft, when the sun was behind the moon. The white area on the edge of the moon is the CZL, and the bright dot at the top is the planet Venus. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1Rioix2) |
Horanyi explained, the hit of cosmic debris caused dust on the Moon lifted up to a height of 200 kilometers above the surface. It remained floating because they can not "run away" from the Moon's gravity, and then forming clouds. Furthermore, the dust was falling again into the Moon surface.
The cosmos debris lacing process, dust rising and falling again the ongoing as well as the water cycle on Earth. In the long term, this process can remove traces of astronauts on the lunar surface left by the Apollo 11 mission.
The dust cloud that enveloped the Moon is not spread evenly. There is one side of the Moon that has a greater amount of clouds. The similar cloud was the first found in Jupiter through the observation by the detector of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Galileo spacecraft.
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| NASA's small moon-orbiting spacecraft Ladee is no more. Flight controllers confirmed today that it crashed into the moon while travelling at speed of 3,600 mph (5,800 kph) - fast enough to be vapourised by the impact. (Picture from: http://dailym.ai/1Rioix2) |
In this time the dust cloud was found through observation with the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) in 2013. According to scientists, a cloud of dust that may be present up to the lowest altitude of 500 meters from the surface of the Moon.
With the results of this research, scientists believed that all celestial bodies that do not have the atmospheric, have dust clouds, including the moon of Mars and Jupiter. The impact of it, said Zoltan Sternovsky from the University of Colorado, "you can analyze the surface of celestial bodies without the need to land on its surface." *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | DAILYMAIL]
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