ECLIPSE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE MOON AND CISLUNAR SPACE,
Abstract
Observing eclipses of the sun and earth from the moon will present unique opportunities for performing valuable scientific experiments. Even during the early phases of lunar exploration, such observational data can be obtained most easily, efficiently, and economically by human observers using very simple instruments. It should be noted that a coordinated program of simultaneous eclipse observations from the earth, from the moon, and from orbiting manned spacecraft, would produce a wealth of scientific data for studies in solar physics, geophysics, astronomy, meteorology, relativity theory, and other fields. Inadequacies in present eclipse theories, unfortunately, do not permit rigorous solutions for the luminous characteristics of the eclipsing and eclipsed bodies as they would appear to observers on the moon or in cislunar space. Nevertheless, quantitative data on the brightness of the earth's halo at specific distances from within the terrestrial shadow-cone have been obtained by a novel method that combines refraction and multiple scattering theory with observed twilight phenomena. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jul 01, 1965
- Accession Number
- AD0618360
Entities
People
- G. F. Schilling
- R. C. Moore
Organizations
- RAND Corporation