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FTA: "In addition to its value as a scientific exploration target, the Moon’s quiet, airless far side makes it one of the best places in the inner solar system

FTA: "In addition to its value as a scientific exploration target, the Moon’s quiet, airless far side makes it one of the best places in the inner solar system for science applications like radio astronomy." It what way is any part of the moon not "quiet and airless" ?

ColinWright 8y ago
The near side is bathed in radio (and other) waves from the Earth. It's not "radio quiet". Also, the Earth "leaks" a surprisingly large amount of air, especially when it's a full Moon and the solar wind is carrying outer reaches of the atmosphere with it. The amounts are small, but scientific instruments are - by design - quite sensitive.
hnbroseph 8y ago
re "airless", the moon does have some semblance of atmosphere, but i think it's neither constrained to the near side nor in general particularly notable.
godelski 8y ago
The sun is really loud. [0] But in all seriousness, it produces a lot of radio signals. So it is completely accurate to call it loud. The moon doesn't have a magnetic core so it doesn't produce its own noise like Earth does. [0] https://youtu.be/Rvvsw21PgIk?t=17 https://youtu.be/Rvvsw21PgIk?t=17
- black-tea 8y ago
  The sun shines on the "dark side" just as much as it shines on the near side.
  - En_gr_Student 8y ago
    Think about what you just said, in context of why one side is light and one is dark. Where does the light come from?
    - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
      The "dark side" of the moon refers to the side that is always pointed away from Earth. It has day/night cycles just like the rest of the moon does. Also try not to take this condescending tone with people. Especially when you're wrong.
  - godelski 8y ago
    Well there's 28 days that it isn't shining (yes, sidreal days exist on the moon). But you also don't have Earth in view (ever). The Earth is also loud. Combine these two and you got a great place for radio astronomy. The far side also has a lot more craters. There are also places in the poles that are always in darkness, but those aren't the best places for observatories.

ColinWright 8y ago

The near side is bathed in radio (and other) waves from the Earth. It's not "radio quiet". Also, the Earth "leaks" a surprisingly large amount of air, especially when it's a full Moon and the solar wind is carrying outer reaches of the atmosphere with it. The amounts are small, but scientific instruments are - by design - quite sensitive.

hnbroseph 8y ago

re "airless", the moon does have some semblance of atmosphere, but i think it's neither constrained to the near side nor in general particularly notable.

godelski 8y ago

The sun is really loud. [0] But in all seriousness, it produces a lot of radio signals. So it is completely accurate to call it loud. The moon doesn't have a magnetic core so it doesn't produce its own noise like Earth does. [0] https://youtu.be/Rvvsw21PgIk?t=17 https://youtu.be/Rvvsw21PgIk?t=17

black-tea 8y ago
The sun shines on the "dark side" just as much as it shines on the near side.
- En_gr_Student 8y ago
  Think about what you just said, in context of why one side is light and one is dark. Where does the light come from?
  - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
    The "dark side" of the moon refers to the side that is always pointed away from Earth. It has day/night cycles just like the rest of the moon does. Also try not to take this condescending tone with people. Especially when you're wrong.
- godelski 8y ago
  Well there's 28 days that it isn't shining (yes, sidreal days exist on the moon). But you also don't have Earth in view (ever). The Earth is also loud. Combine these two and you got a great place for radio astronomy. The far side also has a lot more craters. There are also places in the poles that are always in darkness, but those aren't the best places for observatories.