by neufer » Sat Jan 09, 2016 3:56 pm
MarkBour wrote:neufer wrote:
Hermite crater is the coldest recorded place in the solar system.
All small solar system objects further than 100 AU should be colder than 25 K.
If it's not redundant, then I'll predict that the Moon's polar spots will not hold this record for very long. It's not fair. We've tracked down the coldest spot on the Moon. Soon enough, a probe in some place will beat it. Perhaps New Horizons, when it visits 2014 MU69. Perhaps some measurement out in the asteroid belt. All you'd need is an object with a suitable rotational motion to keep part of it in perpetual darkness.
... perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio, if he doesn't get nominated for the Revenant.
It's not fair but I'll predict that the Moon's polar spots
will hold the title: "coldest
recorded place in the solar system" for a long while.
New Horizons has no infrared thermal measurement capability so we won't know how cold the polar night got on Pluto or Charon much less how cold 2014 MU69 will be.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is perhaps
unique as an "interplanetary" space probe with very long wavelength [50 - 200 μm] infrared thermal measurement capability. Even the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) is only capable of infrared thermal measurements down to 50 μm [i.e., greater than ~60K].
http://diviner.ucla.edu/specifications.shtml wrote:
<<Diviner is an infrared sensing instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which is studying the moon. It is also referred to as the DLRE, for 'Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment' - A radiometer is a sensor designed to measure Electromagnetic Radiation, especially infrared heat radiation.
Diviner is a nine channel infrared filter radiometer based on the design of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Climate Sounder (MCS). The four broad thermal channels are intended to characterize the surface thermal emission over a wide range of temperatures, as well as the presence of anisothermal emission due to the presence of slopes, shadows and rocks with Diviner's field of view. In channels B2 [50 - 100 μm] and B3 [100 - 200 μm], Diviner's minimum detectable temperature is less than 30K. Diviner's mineralogy channels should allow confident determination of the wavelength peak of the Christiensen feature at temperatures above 300K.>>
[quote="MarkBour"][quote="neufer"]
Hermite crater is the coldest [b][u]recorded[/u][/b] place in the solar system.
[u][b]All[/b][/u] small solar system objects further than 100 AU should be colder than 25 K.[/quote]
If it's not redundant, then I'll predict that the Moon's polar spots will not hold this record for very long. It's not fair. We've tracked down the coldest spot on the Moon. Soon enough, a probe in some place will beat it. Perhaps New Horizons, when it visits 2014 MU69. Perhaps some measurement out in the asteroid belt. All you'd need is an object with a suitable rotational motion to keep part of it in perpetual darkness.
... perhaps Leonardo DiCaprio, if he doesn't get nominated for the Revenant.[/quote]
It's not fair but I'll predict that the Moon's polar spots [b][u]will[/u][/b] hold the title: "coldest [b][u]recorded[/u][/b] place in the solar system" for a long while.
New Horizons has no infrared thermal measurement capability so we won't know how cold the polar night got on Pluto or Charon much less how cold 2014 MU69 will be.
The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is perhaps [b][u]unique[/u][/b] as an "interplanetary" space probe with very long wavelength [50 - 200 μm] infrared thermal measurement capability. Even the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Climate Sounder (MCS) is only capable of infrared thermal measurements down to 50 μm [i.e., greater than ~60K].
[quote=" http://diviner.ucla.edu/specifications.shtml"]
[float=left][img3=""]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_YoCIFkM3GQ8/TMCp3tpYEGI/AAAAAAAAKxg/FBn3OuLvsM8/s400/diviner-141x134.png[/img3][/float]<<Diviner is an infrared sensing instrument aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, part of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program which is studying the moon. It is also referred to as the DLRE, for 'Diviner Lunar Radiometer Experiment' - A radiometer is a sensor designed to measure Electromagnetic Radiation, especially infrared heat radiation.
Diviner is a nine channel infrared filter radiometer based on the design of the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Climate Sounder (MCS). The four broad thermal channels are intended to characterize the surface thermal emission over a wide range of temperatures, as well as the presence of anisothermal emission due to the presence of slopes, shadows and rocks with Diviner's field of view. In channels B2 [50 - 100 μm] and B3 [100 - 200 μm], Diviner's minimum detectable temperature is less than 30K. Diviner's mineralogy channels should allow confident determination of the wavelength peak of the Christiensen feature at temperatures above 300K.>>[/quote]