Could there be a link between the covid pandemic and the Moon? In any case, scientists at the Physics Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad, India, have carried out a surprising studywhich shows a drop in the surface temperature of the Moon, our natural satellite, right during this historic pandemic.
These scientists analyzed the data of temperature registered between 2017 and 2023 by the NASA probe placed in orbit around of the Mooncalled Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO). It collects temperatures at six points on the visible side of our satellite. Surprisingly, these researchers observed a drop in lunar surface temperatures during covid pandemic.
A particularly visible reduction at night during the months of April and May 2020, a period corresponding to the first confinements applied in much of the planet to stop the epidemic. On average, during this period the Moon’s temperature would have fallen between 8 and 10 degrees, with a recorded minimum of -177°C at one of the six measurement sites.
Although the pandemic paralyzed the Earth, its consequences would have also partly reached space. This drop in temperatures, considered “abnormal” by these scientists, could be directly explained by the covid pandemic and, more precisely, by the sharp slowdown in human activities.
Human effects on the Moon
The principle of this lunar cooling is simple. With lockdowns, limited human activities emitted less greenhouse gases: Less heat was trapped in the atmosphere and therefore less heat also escaped. It is this heat loss that would have allowed the Moon to cool.
All other factors analyzed by these scientists they had no impact in lunar temperature readings, whether solar activity or seasonal flow variations. Therefore, its results are solely due to confinement: However, additional research will be necessary to establish a certain causal link between these two events.
Meanwhile, the fact that the drop in temperatures is observed on the visible side of the Moon supports the scientists’ hypothesis. This side (as opposed to the far side) is the one most likely to be disturbed by Earth’s radiation and studies have already shown that This radiation could influence the temperature of the lunar surface.
