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The major issue with a telescope in the moon would be the very fine sand in moon's surface that would cause mechanical failures
by moralsupply 6y ago
The major issue with a telescope in the moon would be the very fine sand in moon's surface that would cause mechanical failures
- evan_ 6y agoWould it? With no wind, the sand mostly stays on the ground. When it does get kicked up by something, it goes right back down since there's no atmosphere.
- NikolaeVarius 6y agoWhat. Things come down because of gravity, not because the pretense of an atmosphere. Presumably the stuff required to move stuff to make the scope will disturb at least some sand
- SlipperySlope 6y agoEarly moon mission demonstrated that rock and feather fell at the same speed. Ergo, ultra fine dust will fall to the moon's surface at the same rate as a boulder. Dust will stick with static electricity however much better on the moon - so your point has an even better justification.
- lstodd 6y agoThe point of lacking any atmosphere is that dust is not getting blown around. It just goes down.
- snowwrestler 6y agoUS astronauts found that static charge made the regolith stick to everything that came near it. Basically anything that moved across the surface got quickly coated. And because there is no weathering on the moon, the particles could be extremely small and sharp, which made it difficult to exclude or expel them. Apollo suits at the Smithsonian are still gray with embedded regolith. Conservators try to minimize flexing as the embedded sharp particles chew up the fabric fibers over time.
- IronRanger 6y agoMoon dust is basically like asbestos: https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-dust-is-toxic-2012-7 https://www.businessinsider.com/moon-dust-is-toxic-2012-7
- ben_w 6y agoIf it’s electrostatic (rather than, say, van der Waals forces), could it not be dealt with by big sheets of metal and a high voltage supply? (I’m not a materials scientist, this is a question not a suggestion)