Dark Side of the Moon Revealed

Resource:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120113210608.htm

Summary:

We all know of the dark side of the moon, the side hidden to humans, unexplored and undiscovered. That sentence is no longer true thanks to NASA. The Lyman Alpha Mapping Project aboard NASA'S Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter was able to take pictures of the Moon's southern and northern poles, areas that lay in complete darkness. The LAMP maps showed that the dark regions of the Moon were darker at far-ultraviolet wavelengths and redder than the surfaces of the Moon that do see sunlight. The darker region shows a fluffy texture, fluffy soil, which is related to water frost. There findings show that there could be 1-2% of water frost on the dark sides of the Moon. Scientists were very surprised to find water frost because they expected that the contact between the Moon and the Lyman-alpha would prevent any water frost from even forming. The team determined that the loss of water frost is 16 times slower than they thought, and that the growth of water frost depends on the Moons conditions, like climate. This finding helps scientists better understand the Moon and its water. This discovery has opened new doors of opportunity for our understanding of the Moon.

Critique:

I think this discovery is very interesting and I can't wait until we discover even more about the moon.

Impact:
This discovery is very interesting and will help us to better understand the Moon. This may also help us better understand other planets and what they could offer for humans. This may even lead to the discovery of life somewhere else other than Earth.