The moon can look like a cold, lifeless rock. But what is the real temperature on the surface of the Moon? What is the temperature of the moon?
It’s actually not that cold – at least, not all the time. As on Earth, the temperature of the Moon’s surface changes as sunlight hits it. In fact, these temperature fluctuations can be quite dramatic.
“The temperature swings wildly, from extremely hot to extremely cold,” Jean Monnierprofessor of astronomy at the University of Michigan, told Live Science. The moon’s temperature can vary from about minus 148 degrees Fahrenheit to over 212 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 100 degrees Celsius to over 100 degrees Celsius), Monnier said.
In contrast, the average temperature of the Earth’s surface is 59 F (15 C), but it ranges from approximately minus 129 F to 134 F (minus 89 C to 57 C), depending on NASA.
Although the Earth and the Moon are roughly the same distance from the sun – about 93 million miles (150 million kilometers) – a few factors influence why their temperatures are so different. First, Earth has an atmosphere that retains heat and maintains moderate, habitable temperatures on our planet. The Moon has no atmosphere, making it vulnerable to the full heat of the sun, Monnier said.
Related: Will the Earth one day lose its Moon?
Earth also has vast oceans that absorb and store energy from the sun and slowly release it at night. The rock moon, on the other hand, bakes or cools in light and shadow. What’s more, a The lunar day-night cycle approximates an Earth monthits surface is therefore exposed to light and darkness for longer periods.
The Moon’s soil, known as regolith, is “a very good insulator,” Monnier said. Thus, in light as in darkness, the surface of the moon retains heat or cold. These temperature changes vary across the surface of the Moon. Although regolith is a good insulator, it is not a good conductor. During the Apollo 15 and 17 missionsthe crew took measurements of the heat flow below the surface. The average temperature 14 inches (35 centimeters) below the surface of the sites measured was between 40 and 45 kelvins warmer than the surface, indicating that the moon’s subsurface does not support the same temperature extremes.
According to NASANear the moon’s equator, temperatures can reach 250 F (121 C) in the sun and drop to minus 207 F (minus 133 C) in the dark. After Mercury, the surface of the Moon has the most extreme thermal environment in the solar system.
However, at the time of the moon polesthe sun neither rises nor sets. It is never more than 1.5 degrees above or below the horizon, so it casts long shadows that rotate with the moon. These low angles mean there are craters in perpetual darkness. Monnier said it was possible that these craters, known as permanently shadowed regions, contained trapped ice particles, which could be crucial for human survival on the Moon.
NASA measured the temperature of the moon with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), launched in June 2009. In July 2022, the LRO — using its onboard thermal camera, the Diviner Lunar Radiometer experiment — discovered that some shaded regions in pits remain around 63 F (17°C). The results indicate that these pits could be suitable sites for human shelter.
However, the moon can become extremely cold in some shadow areas, and it can even block out the sun. coldest temperature in the solar systemresearch suggests. Craters at the lunar south pole could be “double shaded,” meaning they are shielded not only from direct solar heat, but also from secondary heating sources, such as solar radiation reflected from neighboring areas. Direct temperatures of these craters have not been taken, but it is possible that they are 25 kelvins (minus 414.67 F or minus 248.15 C) or even colder.
Understanding how the Moon’s temperatures fluctuate in different locations will also be crucial for future explorations. Before we even consider the possibility of extended human stays on the Moon, we need to build equipment that can withstand high and low temperatures, Monnier said. It is also important to understand how the insulating regolith interacts with different instruments, to avoid overheating them.
“If we want to have a permanent settlement on the Moon, like a base, or if we want to have scientific instruments, then of course we need to know the temperature and how it varies so we can make things that will last,” said Monnier. .