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> Another issue is the change in temperature. The changes in temperature are exaggerated. If you cover the telescope during day with some type of cover (like s

> Another issue is the change in temperature. The changes in temperature are exaggerated. If you cover the telescope during day with some type of cover (like space blanket [1]), then everything that's not in direct light will stay at the same temperature as during the lunar night. For the simple reason that there's no air on the moon to transfer heat, and the regolith is a very good insulator. So you could end up using the telescope 14 days out of 28 and be done with it. But what's more, you can set up the space blanket to only protect the part of the telescope that's in direct sunlight. For the rest of the telescope it will appear like it's perfect night, because there's not atmosphere to disperse the rays of the sun. So you can end up using the telescope during the lunar day as well, although not at full exposure. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_blanket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_blanket

Asraelite 5y ago
> 14 days out of 28 Out of 29 and a half actually. I'm curious where the misconception that a lunar month is 28 days comes from. I believed it too but I can't find any good reason for doing so.
- credit_guy 5y ago
  You are right, and I was just lazy. 28 is an even number, and it felt nicer to say 14 days out of 28, rather than 14.75 out of 29.5. Separately though, the misconception comes from the fact that we have 4 phases of the Moon (new, first quarter, full, last quarter), and it's easy to conceptualize that the interval between two is 7 days, or one week, rather than 7.38264725.
  - dave333 5y ago
    Sidereal month (relative to fixed stars) is 27.32 days. Synodic month relative to Earth is 29.53. There are other months that correct sidereal for motion around the sun, eccentricity of the lunar orbit, and tilt of lunar orbit, but the difference is tiny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_month https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_month

Asraelite 5y ago

> 14 days out of 28 Out of 29 and a half actually. I'm curious where the misconception that a lunar month is 28 days comes from. I believed it too but I can't find any good reason for doing so.

credit_guy 5y ago
You are right, and I was just lazy. 28 is an even number, and it felt nicer to say 14 days out of 28, rather than 14.75 out of 29.5. Separately though, the misconception comes from the fact that we have 4 phases of the Moon (new, first quarter, full, last quarter), and it's easy to conceptualize that the interval between two is 7 days, or one week, rather than 7.38264725.
- dave333 5y ago
  Sidereal month (relative to fixed stars) is 27.32 days. Synodic month relative to Earth is 29.53. There are other months that correct sidereal for motion around the sun, eccentricity of the lunar orbit, and tilt of lunar orbit, but the difference is tiny. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_month https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_month