A ground-breaking study by Indian researchers has revealed that the global COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020 may have influenced lunar surface temperatures, marking a unique intersection between human activity on Earth and conditions on the Moon.
Published in the peer-reviewed Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, the research highlights an anomalous temperature drop during the strictest lockdown period of April and May 2020.
Analysis of lunar temperatures
K Durga Prasad and G Ambily from the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) conducted an in-depth analysis of night-time surface temperatures across six locations on the Moon’s nearside, including prominent sites such as Oceanus Procellarum and Mare Serenitatis.
According to PRL director Anil Bharadwaj, “This is an important work by our group here. It’s quite unique.”
The researchers utilised data from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, discovering a consistent decrease of 8-10 Kelvin in lunar temperatures during the lockdown months compared to the same period in other years.
“We actually analysed data for 12 years. But used seven years data (2017 to 2023) in our study for uniformity—three years before the lockdown year, 2020, and the three years thereafter,” Prasad was quoted as saying by the Times of India.
Link to Earth’s Radiation Changes
The study attributes the observed temperature drop on the Moon to a reduction in Earth’s outgoing radiation during the lockdowns. With human activity significantly decreased, greenhouse gas emissions and aerosols also saw a marked reduction, leading to less heat being trapped and re-emitted by Earth’s atmosphere.
Researchers noted considerable temperature variations across different sites and years, with the lowest recorded temperature being 96.2 K at Site-2 in 2020. In contrast, the highest of the lowest temperatures was 143.8 K at Site-1 in 2022. Overall, 2020 marked the coldest temperatures across most sites, while a warming trend was evident in 2021 and 2022 as human activities resumed.
Understanding the impact
“Moon acts as an amplifier of Earth’s radiation signature. This unique global event provided us with a rare opportunity to observe how changes in human activity on Earth can affect our nearest celestial neighbour,” Prasad explained.
The researchers also investigated other possible factors, such as solar activity and seasonal variations, concluding that these did not influence the observed temperature changes.
“As an anomalous decrease in lunar night-time surface temperatures during the COVID lockdown period is observed, the effect of other possible factors… have also been investigated,” the paper states.
Future research directions
While the findings present an intriguing correlation, the authors acknowledge the need for more data to fully establish the link between changes in Earth’s radiation and lunar surface temperatures.
They suggest that future Moon-based observatories could play a crucial role in studying Earth’s climate and environmental shifts.
Link to article –
Moon got cooler when people on Earth stayed home during COVID lockdown, reveals research
